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ROBERT MORRIS 




AND THE 



HOLLAND PURCHASE 




BY 



JOHN KENNEDY. 



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PRICE, 75c. 

of charter membership in the Hc:'.- 
torital Society, 

''1.00 



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Robert Mokris. 



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From ■■" o-iffiticil portrait in oil ] 



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ROBERT MORRIS 



AND THE 



HOLLAND PURCHASE 



BY 



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JOHN KENNEDY. 



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Batavia, N. Y. : 
J. F. HALL, Publisher, 
1894. 




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CoPYRIGlITEn 
liV 

JOHN Kennedy, 
1894. 



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The Old Land Office at Batavia. 




ATAVIA IS A comparatively new town, and yet it contains within 
its borders one of the most interesting historical landmarks in the 
world. 
One cannot visit Concord Bridge, or Bunker Hill, or Saratoga, or York- 
town, or Mount Vernon, without being stirred to the very depths of his soul 
with memories of the great struggle for American independence That 
great conflict deic....;aed not only the destinies of America, but the condi- 
tion of mankind throughout the world. The sublime Declaration of Inde- 
pendence voiced the yearnings and aspirations of humanity everywhere; and 
the success of the American people in throwing off despotic power and en- 
throning the popular will, has stirred all other people with hope and deter- 
mination. Other nations have taken up the maxims that "governments de- 
rive their just powers from the consent of the governed." that "government 
is of the people, by the people, for the people." Under the operation of 
these maxims the thrones of earth are either disappearing entirely or are 
becoming the obedient servants of the popular will. Constitutional liberty 
is sprino-incr up everywhere, and human rights are becoming entrenched 
within laws of the people's own making. The world is going on htting itself 
for freedom and habilitating itself with freedom, all because the American 
revolution was successful. It goes g|| doing so under the asuring adage that 
•• What man has done, ma« cartM*" Such is the overpowering effect of 

example. ftV. <» **• ■■,■.■ r .1, 

The revolutionary struggle was the great epoch m the history ot the 

world the turning point between the old order of things and the new. 

The intelligence and courage of the colonial farmers will be the theme 
of song and story to the end of time. Their deeds will acquire only added 
lustre as the centuries slip away. " Those were the times that tried men s 
soulb;" but the men of that day had souls equal to the occasion. 

" By the rude bridge that arched the flood, 
Their flag to April's breeze unfurled. 
There once the embattled farmers stood 
And fired the shot heard around the world." 
And Oh what farmers they were ! Their furious onslaught at Concord 
bridge was repeated in the death-grapple at Bunker Hill, where they thrice 
hurled back the advancing foe, and were beaten at last only by the exhaus- 
tion of their ammunition. They fell back in sullen retreat from Long 
Island only to seek new fighting ground. With shoeless feet and tattered gar- 
ments they entered upon long retreats and famous forced marches; yea^ after 
year added only to the intensity of their sufferings; until the horrors of Valley 
Forge expressed the high-water mark of human endurance. Yet, out of all this 
privation and suffering they could spring upon the enemy at Trenton and 
Princeton, and Saratoga, and Yorktown, and force him to the wall. 



—4— 

One visits the Old South Church and looks with reverence upon tli6 
mute but eloquent relics associated with those brave deeds ; and one is simi- 
larly affected in visiting the headquarters of the American commander at 
Newburg, the famousold house with the seven doors and one window , 
the house from which Washington gave his last orders to his army, 
the house in which he sternly refused a crown. There it is as he left 
it ; and it will be kept so for ages by the State of New York. The 
furniture is the furniture he used ; you see his inkstand, his auto- 
graph letters and orders, a lock of his hair ; you see articles that 
belonged to his Adjutant-General Hamilton, and to other distin- 
guished officers of his household; you see nothing within or about the 
building but what was used in the Revolutionary struggle. In the midst 
of those objects with so great a history the imagination is stimulated to call 
up the men who used them and the times in which they were used. And in 
the midst of such material reminders one is stirred up to be a better citizen, 
a truer patriot. 

Go a little farther South to Tappan, where Andre was condemned and 
executed. There is the church (or a restoration of it) in which the famous 
trial was held, where the intrepid bearing of the prisoner won the sympath- 
ies of the entire populace and almost melted his stern judges to clemency. 
But they were men who could perform a painful duty, and could visit a great 
crime with a great punishment. When the condemned man appealed to the 
Commander-in-Chief to modify his sentence, so that he might die the death 
of a soldier rather than that of a felon, the appeal had but a few yards to 
go, to another headquarters still preserved intact, in which sat the benevolent 
Washington with heart bleeding for the unfortunate man, but with the reso- 
lution to let the stern laws of war takj> their course. There is the chair in 
which he sat while sympathy wrestled with duty ; there is the old fireplace 
into which he gazed; and around it are still the same beautiful tiles from Hol- 
land that recall at once the good taste of the period and the restful pleasure 
they must have given the last distinguished occupant of the dwelling. Here 
again the sacred precinct is surrounded with the protection of the law ; 
another shrine is preserved and reserved for the veneration of American 
patriotism. It is kept as nearly as possible as Washington would wish to 
see it; no profane speculation can pervert it to ignoble uses ; it is dedicated 
forever to the visualizing of the greatest period in history, or until slowly 
consuming time alone shall cause it to disappear from the sight of men. 

All know that Mount Vernon is placed* under the same protection, and 
nothing but long delayed decay may remove from the sight of men the 
appointments of Washington's home, and the tomb in which his remains lie 
buried. 

The thousands that pay their tribute of veneration to those interesting 
spots will only be. increased by other thousands upon thousands as the years 
roll by. But had the Revolution failed, how long would the interest in an 
unsuccessful rebel have survived ? or how much interest would there have 
been felt in places associated with unsuccessful rebellion ? 

That the Revolution was menaced with failure is a truth most appalling 
to the student of history. The courage and determination of the American 



farmers did not fail; but the brave American soldiers could not win battle 
with starved, and debilitated, and frozen bodies, and with empty hands. 
The provisions, the clothing, the pay, the ammunition, the equipments, the 
7}iateriel of war of the American soldiers did fail. They failed not until the 
treasury was empty ; they failed not until the credit of the country was ex- 
hausted, until the notes of the government were so depr:ciated that the pay 
of a colonel would not buy oats for his horse ; they failed not until the sub- 
stance of the colonies was consumed by forced loans. This was their last 
resource, and this failed; the next inevitable step was the failure of the 
Revolution itself. The colonists' learned the bitter lesson that help comes 
not to the losers: it comes to the winners. Help finally came from a friendly 
nation ; but it came to the victors of Saratoga, not to the vanquished of 
Long Island and Brandywine, not to the shivering martyrs of Valley Forge. 

The Roman Curtius leaped into the chasm that his country might be 
saved; the American Curtius, the renowned Robert Morris, leaped into the 
chasm of his country's distress; the chasm closed, and his rescued country 
marched over him to victory. He threw his wealth and credit into the scale 
of his country's wants, and he sent to Holland and successfully negotiated 
there a series of loans backed by his own private credit. This Holland 
money relieved the situation: it turned a new and unlooked for stream into 
the exhausted treasury ; food, and clothing, and arms, and ammunition, and 
equipments, and weapons, were bought ; the sad stories of Long Island, and 
Brandywine, and Germantown, and Valley Forge were changed to the pjeans 
of Bennington, Saratoga, Monmouth, and Yorktown. The Revolution did not 
fail. An indirect result of all these transactions was the Holland Land Pur- 
chase made from Robert Morris himself. 

On the banks of the Tonawanda there is situated a beautiful and thriv- 
ing town called Batavia. It is well-known that Batavia is another name for 
Holland, just as Britannia is another name for England, just as Caledonia 
is another name for Scotland, just as Hibernia is another name for Ireland, 
just as Gaul is another name for France, just as Iberia is another name for 
Spain, just as Helvetia is another name for Switzerland, just as Hellas is 
another name for Greece 

The town of Batavia was so called because it was made the local headquar- 
ters of the Holland Land Company, the investors in the Holland Pur- 
chase. 1 n the town of Batavia, on the very bank of its winding and gently flow- 
ing Indian stream, stands a stone building, which has stood for nearly a century. 
This building is famous throughout Western New York as the Old Land 
Office of the Holland Purchase. 

If ever a building deserved preservation, it is that same old Land Of^ce. 
If Mount Vernon, and Tappan, and Newburgh are shrines, the old Land 
Office shjuld be a shrine of shrines ; for the man who made the sale to the 
Hollanders saved the other buildings from being regarded as so many worn- 
out barns. This great landmark in our history should be saved from ignoble 
uses, and from needless wear and tear; it should be put into a condition to 
tell its silent but eloquent story to as many generations as possible. Over 
the portals of Mount Vernon, and Tappan, and Newburgh, and Faneuil Hall, 
and the Old South Church, the appropriate legend might be inscribed : 



~6 

"Heroism did its best to win Independence;" over the portals of the old Land 
Office should be written in letters of gold, "The Revolution did not fail." 

The tiag of a nation redeemed should float above this hallowed struc- 
ture; the portrait of Robert Morris should be hung upon its walls; it should 
be his monument ; and its fac-simile should appear on the pedestal of every 
statue erected to him by his admiring and grateful countrymen. It should 
be reserved to no other purpose than to contain mementoes of the settle- 
ment, growth, struggles, and triumphs of this fair land. As an object lesson 
in patriotism and statesmanship it could have a most uplifting effect upon 
each growing generation. 

The Hollanders made the purchase not because it was land, but because 
it was fine land. When one travels among the fertile lands west of the 
Genesee, when he sees the waving grain, the luxuriant meadows, the fat 
pastures, and the mammoth barns, he thinks of Robert Morris and the 
Revolution that did not fail. And he congratulates each prosperous far- 
mer that the title deed of his estate runs back to such a distinguished name 
as that of Robert Morris. , 



It is true that Robert Morris did not come into possession of the Holland 
Purchase until 1791, a few years subsequent to the closing of the Revolu- 
tionary war, that the transfer to the Holland Land Company was made the 
following year, and that the village of Hatavia was founded and named at 
the very beginning of this century. 

Still the founding of Batavia is an incident in the preservation of the 
Revolutionary war. It was a part of the great transactions by which that 
war, so important to the destinies of this nation and all mankind, was saved 
from disastrous failure. 

Robert Morris procured the money that saved the Revolution : he nego- 
tiated several loans in Holland, and he backed all his transactions with his 
own private credit. 

It was mainly Holland money that supplemented the private purse of 
one of the most remarkable men in history. Ruined in fortune by his 
responses to his country's needs, we find him at last selling to the Holland 
capitalists, whose money with his won the war, the noble tract known as the 
Holland Purchase. 

The founding of Batavia was the last act in the great private tragedy by 
which the Revolutionary war was saved. 

"That the government had in any way been able to finish the war, after 
the downfall of its paper-money, was due to the gigantic efforts of one great 
man — Robert Morris — /ohn Fiske, The Critical Period of American His- 
tory, p. i6y . 

" Except for the sums raised by Robert Morris, of Philadelphia, even 
Washington could not have saved the country." — Fiske, American Revolu- 
tion, p. 24.4. 

• 

" In the single campaign of 1781 gave notes for $1,400,000. — American 
Encyclopcedia . 

" In this emergency Robert Morris sent to camp 3,000,000 rations. — 
Barnes' Centenary History. 



—7— 

" By freely using his private credit he succeeded in restoring confidence 
in the promises of Congress to pay its honest debts." — Ibid, p. joy. 

" More than once he prevented its (the army's) dispersion and the failure 
of the glorious achievement of independence." — Turner s History of the Hol- 
land Purchase, p. Jj6. 

" Came forward with his princely fortune to the support of his distressed 
countrymen." — Ridpath, p. Ji6. 

" The balance has been obtained by those Dutch loans." — Hildreth, Vol. 
III., p. 544. 

" Brought to poverty by a vain attempt to support the government. For 
three years after the treaty of peace public affairs were in a condition bor- 
dering on chaos." — Ridpath, p. J58. 

After signing the transfer of the Purchase the Atlas of the Revolution 
disappeared into a debtor's prison ; and we have no word of complaint from 
his patient lips against the ingratitude of that country that needed him no 
longer. Curtius had voluntarily sprung into the chasm. He could not com- 
plain if the chasm closed over him and his country moved on to its destiny. 

But on the Holland Purchase where Robert Morris last appeared, 
wrestling like a Titan with his self-imposed burdens, his name should be 
ever kept green; and suitable honors should be there accorded to his 
memory. 

The old Land Office should be preserved with religious veneration ; its 
walls should be graced with his portrait ; and his statue should adorn its 
grounds. 

Every man on the Holland Purchase should deem it not only his privi- 
lege but his right to contribute to these honors. Every piece of real estate 
on this favored purchase has at the basis of its title one of the greatest 
names in history. Every farm recalls the life and fortunes of one of the 
purest of patriots and one of the greatest of men. 

Let the Purchase do its duty to this grand and neglected man, and it 
may be that then the indifferent nation will wake up to a becoming sense of 
shame for its disgraceful neglect of it greatest hero and martyr. He gave 
all; the country took his all, and took it ravenously, and then — left him to 
poverty and oblivion ! 

I woald not detract from the glory of Washington, and Franklin, and 
Lincoln, and Grant: they all deserve to stand out in heroic proportions 
before the imaginations of all generations. And we all rejoice that while 
they were great historical characters, they were also giod men. But in the 
Pantheon of fame where their figures stand immortal, I see an empty ped- 
estal. On that empty pedestal I would place a figure fitted in every way to 
stand in their company; nor would I have its proportions reduced one whit 
below those of the others. Need I say thalrf-would fill that empty pedestal 
with the figure of the Atlas of the Revolution, the unapproachable Robert 
Morris ? 

"There were giants in those days." But some men are more than 
giants; they are demigods. You cannot measure them by ordinary stand- 
ards; admiration is not enough; you must revere them. 

There were many giants in the Revolution ; but that struggle revealed 



—8— 

three Titans fighting in the van; those three were Washington, Franklin 
and Robert Morris. 

There is no need of invidious comparisons. It is, perhaps, sufficient 
meed of honor to our hero to say that none of the others out-measured him. 

Like all the others he was utterly free from selfish ambition, and, like 
them, he was willing, when his work was done to sink gently back intO' 
obscurity. 

A kind fortune has preserved the others from an oblivion which they 
did not dread: let us here on the Purchase endeavor to resuscitate and 
rehabilitate their glorious compeer, the Curtius of American History, the 
Atlas of the Revolution, the man that seemed of all others providentially 
born for his time, the gentle Robert Morris. 



The criticism has been made that the attempt to secure and preserve 
the old land office of the Holland Purchase is an appeal to sentiment, and 
that such an appeal cannot succeed in this practical age. It is true that the 
appeal is made to a sentiment— to the great sentiment of patriotism; and I 
am not sure that this age and nation have yet become so practical as to let 
such an appeal go forth unheard. Our people are certainly very busy in the 
acquisition of property, and it is both proper and commendable that they 
should be so. Industry, frugality, thrift, are virtues which redound not only 
to the independence, comfort, success, and happiness of their individual 
possessors, but they also make the aggregate prosperity of the nation as a 
whole. The public hive is stored and enriched by the activity of each indi- 
vidual busy bee. 

We may well be proud ofour country when we see every individual striving 
honestly and zealously after a competence; but we may well despair of our 
country whenever we see that its citizens have no aim in life beyond the 
acquisition of some extra dollars. Whenever our people descend to the 
making of money for its own sake, for the sake simply of having and hoard- 
ing it : whenever a proper and even a glorious means is perverted into an 
end, then the beginning of the end has come. 

There are great uses for a competency; and great souls are strug- 
gling to get it in order to make those great uses of it. The grasping hand 
of avarice may be among our busy bees; but 1 believe that the silent am- 
bitions, the unexpressed purposes of the great majority of American toilers 
would bear the most rigid scrutiny. They are planning not only how to 
get the money, but also the uses that they will put it to; and those plans of 
use are all centering around some cherished sentiments. The very soul of 
sentiment is at the bottom of our business world. If it were not so, we might 
well despair of the future. Those silent workers are reaching out to the 
discharge of some ultimate duties; the wolf is to be kept from the door; the 
leisure and means for improving the mind are to be secured; the chil- 
are to be educated and provided for; the condition of the unfortunate classes 
is to be ameliorated; the spread of the gospel and of good works is to be 
promoted; matters of import to the general weal are to be forwarded. All 
these sentiments are to be gratified, all these duties to be performed, when 
competency or affluence arrives. 



The toilers are simply working to become free — free to exert their will — 
free to reveal the sentiments that dominate their dreams. 

But the man with his mind on ultimate duties is always ready for the 
nearest duty. He is a man with a soul; but that is only another way of say- 
ing that he is a man super-charged with sentiment. Let the public peace be 
menaced, let the national life be imperiled, then, like Putnam, he forgoes 
all his plans, leaves his horses in the furrow as it were, and springs to his 
country's call. We have just seen two-and-a-half millions of American 
toilers spring from their vocations to put down a gigantic rebellion; and, 
having done it well, the survivors are now toilmg again as if nothing had 
happened. O, there is plenty of sentiment yet in the breast of the average 
silent, practical American citizen ! When you appeal to it in the right cause 
you never appeal in vain. 

It is not to the idlers of a nation that any generous appeal can be made 
— not to the hungry waifs that have lost all manhood but its mere physical 
proportions — not to those who use an ample fortune in the worthless busi- 
ness of killing time; it is made to those who have a calling, a serious busi- 
ness in life ; it is made, in short, to this very practical element; and it is not 
made in vain 

The practical men of the country are the nation's treasury in reserve, 
the nation's reserve of patriotism, and the nation's hope of glory. If you 
want a thing done that needs to be done, go to the practical men with it ; if 
you want a thing done that ought to be done, go to the practical men with 
it To say that an age is practical is only to say that it is readiest for 
great emotions, that it is ripest for great deeds. It takes a practical age to 
put millions into monuments, as our age has done; to fight down the cholera, 
the yellow fever, famine, fire, and floods. This practical age has a pocket 
to go into on such occasions; and no one will say that the hand ever goes 
into the pocket grudgingly when responding to such calls. Such occasions 
convince the practical people that it is not the best end in life to " put money 
into your purse," but rather to take it out of the purse. 

In the moral education of children it is not a difficult thing to train them 
to put money into their purse; they are all acquisitive by nature. The main 
task is to train them to open their little purse and let its contents flow forth 
in generous deeds. Nothing delights the thoughtful parent or teacher more 
than to find the child becoming a discriminating giver. The child's mite, 
when freely given in response to a generous feeling, is even more precious 
than the widow's mite ; for in the child the instinct of acquisition is the 
stronger, and the battle with selfishness the greater. Yes, it is more preci- 
ous to give than to receive; and this is never more truly felt than among 
a people who are really prosperous, never more truly felt than in a practical 
age. 

There is a wide difference between an age that is practical and one that 
is sordid. When every generous impulse is stifled, when selfishness runs 
riot, when all are remorselessly straining after money for the sake of per- 
sonal indulgence or lavish display, or the forwarding of unholy ambitions, 
when greed of gain has become a general disease, then has the dry-rot 
entered into the national life; and the collapse of that nation cannot be long 



lO — 

deferred. There have been such ages, and there have been such awful 
examples ; Greece, Rome, Venice, Florence, Genoa, all collapsed under 
the cankerous action of national avarice. 

"Ill fares the land to hastening ills a prey, 
Where wealth accumulates and men decay." 

Empires are built upon sentiment; they disappear when the people 
become too calm, when they become imperturbable and boast that they are 
never stirred with emotions. The emotion is the wholesome storm that 
dispels the insidious fog and the deadly stagnation of the waters. 

It is a compliment to a people to address to them an appeal on the line 
of sentiment; for you assume that they are ready to give to that appeal a 
suitable response. 

But there is, after all, nothing more practical than sentiment. We 
expend untold millions to make the masses good citizens. What, then, could 
be more practical than to exspend a few hundreds in an endeavor to stir 
within those masses the noble sentiment of patriotism, the love of country 
and admiration of its history ? 

We do this by placing the flag of our country above each school house, 
and by carefully preserving the landmarks of the past. Nothing could be 
more impressive or effective than the recent indignationof our veterans over 
the desecration of Gettysburg battlefield. See the numerous monuments 
dotting that field of triumph, and note the snug little sum wisely given to the 
fostering of a great sentiment. 

" How sleep the brave who sink to rest 
By all their country's wishes blessed I 
When Spring, with dewey Angers cold. 
Returns to deck their hallowed mould, 
She there shall dress a sweeter sod 
Than Fancy's feet have ever trod. 

By fairy hands their knell is rung; 
By forms unseen their dirge is sung; 
There Honor comes, a pilgrim grey. 
To bless the turf that wraps their clay; 
And Freedom shall awhile repair 
To dwell a weeiiing hermit there : " 

Yes, it is practical all around. The parent who is planning the educa- 
tion of his children could not do a more practical thing than to surround 
them with an atmosphere in which they could breathe in the spirit of loftiest 
sentiment and devotion. Who couldbe at Bunker Hill without being stirred 
to heroic self-sacrifice ? Who could look at Bunker Hill Monument with-, 
out being at Bunker Hill ? 

And so with every landmark associated with a great past. The Old 
Land Office of the Holland Purchase bridges over the entire interval back 
to the Revolutionary struggle. It touches hands with Robert Morris him- 
self, and carries us back to the critical moment when he alone, as if inspired 
by the Almighty Ruler of nations, saw the vvay through. The old building 
recalls the man, the cause, the intervening time. It recalls the struggle for 
liberty, the making of the nation, the preservation of the nation, and the 
growth of empire, 



— II — 

Such a landmark should be preserved with religious veneration ; and I be- 
lieve that there is sufficient sentiment in Western New York to ensure its 
preservation. 

I cannot close this passage without another word about the original owner 
of the Holland Purchase, that peerless baron of short possession, but a pos- 
session long enough to make the region holy ground. 

Robert Morris embodied in his personality the possibilities of human na- 
ture — the practical element and the sentimental, each in the highest degree. 
As a practic-el man he accumulated a fortune of eight millions. He doubtless 
had ulterior plans as to its use — such a man must have had his benevolent 
plans — but when the struggling Revolution was on he saw his opportunity, 
and he flung his millions in. Though he was thrown into a debtors prison, 
and died in abject poverty, yet I doubt whether he ever regretted the sacrifices 
he had made. I think he would have done it again. A great opportunity had 
come to him ; and he had met it greatly. What more could a great-souled man 
wish? It is true that he was disowned and discredited; while lieutenant-col- 
onels and captains were the heroes of the hour, the Great Heart of the Revo- 
lution pined forgotten in a loathsome prison ; he died without any assurance 
that his country would ever utter his name with any emotions ef gratitude. 

But he had the consolation of all the greatest natures, the consolation that 

alone can satisfy a truly great soul — the consciousness of having done his 

duty, and of having made his life serviceable to mankind. Such a nature can, 

if necessary, dispense with the sound of popular applause. He saved the 

Revolution ; he forced it to succeed ; yet in his dire extremity he read the story 

of the Revolution with his name left out; and he gave no sign. He died as 

greatly as he had lived ; we have no record of a single complaint passing from 

his lips ; he sank gently to his rest 

" Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch 
About him and lies down to pleasant dreams." 

But his farm will redeem him from oblivion ; that mournful barony of his, 
the Holland Purchase, will do honor to his name, and will force that name to 
its proper position in American annals. There is sentiment enough for that. 

With such a spirit hovering over the Old Land Office, and with all the as- 
sociations of the intervening century clustering around it, who can doubt the 
propriety, yea, the imperative duty, of saving that great landmark from oblit- 
eration ? 

" Breathes there a man with soul so dead 
Who never to himself has said 
This is my own, my native land I 
Whose heart has ne'er within him burned, 
As home his footsteps he has turned 
From wandering on a foreign strand 1 
If such there breathe go mark him well ; 
For him no minstrel raptures swell ! 
High though his titles, proud his name. 
Boundless his wealth, as wish can claim ; 
Despite those titles, power, and pelf. 
The wretch, concentred all in self. 
Living, shall forfeit fair renown, 
And. doubly dying, shall go down 
To the vile dust from whence he sprung, 
Unwept, unhonored, and unsung.'' 



A contemporary writer thinks it sufficient meed of praise for Robert Mor- 
ris to compare him with Jay Cooke. He more than intimates that Morris was 



J ^ 



— 12— 

a mere self -seeker who over-reached himself and came to grief. I regret to 
see one of the noblest and greatest characters in American History or in the 
history of the world, disposed of in such an off-hand and unjust manner. Jay 
Cooke was a mere banker who handled and disposed of the securities of our 
government during the War of the Rebellion. He handled them as a mere 
matter of business; and, while he may have helped the government, he did 
what he did solely for his own interest. 

Morris, on the contrary, was a patriot who labored with might and main 
from first to last to win American Independence, and to establish the Ameri- 
can government upon the iirmest foundations. To achieve those great ends 
he put everything in peril — his good name, his life, his fortune. It was with 
no selfish aim that he signed the Declaration of Independence, and thus vol- 
untarily placed a halter above his neck. The signers took all the chances of 
martyrdom ; and it was many years before they knew that they would not be 
martyred. They took the chances of death ; but it was the disgraceful death 
of a felon, a death on the gibbet, branded with the odium of treason. 

It was with no selfish aim that Morris came to the rescue of Washington 
in 1777 and prevented the dispersion of the patriot army by instantlj' raising 
$50,000 on his own private credit. It was with no selfish aim that he assumed 
the burden of the whole expense of the war after the means and credit of the 
government had completely failed. He was not speculating in the securities 
of a strong government ; he was simply bolstering up with his o<wn private 
means the weakest and most desperate of causes. He simply added his labor, 
his thought, and his money to his life, and said with a persistency nothing short 
of sublime; " The Revolution must not fail ?" 

Will history say that this was a case of Robert Morris working foi Robert 
Morris? History will perpetrate no such sublime injustice; though history 
has as yet been too silent in regard to his great deeds. The children of this 
generation can speak with familiarity of the subordinate officers of the Revo- 
lutionary army ; but the men of this generation have to ask about the man 
who held that army together, who fed and clothed and supplied it, who point- 
ed out its way to victory, and who hurled it on the foe. Yes, the men of this 
generation have no answer when Robert Morris is characterized as a mere 
financial adventurer, who somewhat miscalculated his opportunities, and 
chanced to land in a debtor's prison. History has done Robert Morris the 
wrong of silence, but not the wrong of actual slander. History has not writ- 
ten him down ; but it has failed as yet to write him up. When it gets around 
to him ^^=-- ^nll have the grandest theme that ever called forth the tones of 

c the man must not be known as a mere generous and enthusiastic 
^ey-bags ; he revealed throughout the contest an intellect of imperial qual- 
.i.y and a prevision that was little short of inspiration. Much as his money 
did, his thought won the Revolution even more than his money. It was he who 
brought in the aid of the outside world, in the form of men and money. It 
was he who dissuaded Washington in 1781 from making an abortive assault 
upon New York, and who suggested in the place of such a blunder the glorious 
campaign of Yorktown.* 

*See Turner's History of the Holland Purchase. 



—^3 

Had Morris not appeared on the scene, or had Morris died during the 
struggle, the Revokition would have collapsed. Who can say this of any- 
other man? If it can not be said of any other man, then Morris was pre-em- 
inently the man of the Revolution. We shudder to think what might have 
been had Washington not appeared, or had he been called away ; we know 
what would have been had Morris disappeared; the history of the Revolution 
would have been the history of glorious despair, the history of gibbets, the 
history of the wreck of human hopes. 

The life that was so recklessly exposed on the occasion of Braddock's de- 
feat, that was put into frequent peril during the battles of the Revolution, 
might have encountered one of the flying bullets which it so bravely dared. 
The loss would have been terrible ; it might have cost us victory ; but who will 
say that it must have done so? The loss of Morris would have been sure ruin. 
A Jay Cooke sitting back and fattening upon his country's tribulations! Out 
on the thought ! Shame on such profanation ! The man of the Revolution, 
the one life on which all our destines turned, the man admired for his intelli- 
gence and revered for his probity by all his contemporaries to be characteriz- 
ed within a century as a mere unsuccessful speculator ! O temporal O mores! 

When we see Robert Morris languishing in a debtor's prison in the 
United States of America within a few years after the adoption of the Consti- 
tution which he helped to frame, and when we see him within a century charac- 
terized as a mere unlucky speculator, the proverbial ingratitude of republics 
comes home to us with its fullest force and in all its bitterness. He 
signed the Declaration of Independence ; he held the armies together by the 
use of his princely fortune, his great integrity, and his mighty ability ; he 
brought in aid from abroad ; he literally pushed the Revolution through. 
When others despaired he said : " It can go on, and it must go on." 

It did go on But while he never lost his push he never lost his head ; he 
also never pushed blindly ; he always pushed toward definite results. Though 
not always seeing his way clearly as to means he was yet always clear as to 
the ends to be attained. He never blundered and he never failed. When the 
aggregate wisdom of the country lost the fight, it then became Morris's fight; 
and Morris won. 

To see the man in all his aspects at once, the concentration of judgment, 
energy, resourcefuluess, push, and determination, take the campaign of 1781. 
Washington felt that a blow must be struck ; he would strike New York. 
Morris said no ; the assault would be of doubtful issue, and would be made in 
any event at too great a cost of men and money ; even if successful the British 
could with their great naval resources retake it ; and things would be worse 
than they had been. Better, he said, swing the army around to Virginia and 
crush Cornwallis. Washington said he could not move so great as into ""'•''"- 
ginia ; he had not the means of transportation. Morris said he would pro\ 
transportation. " How will you do it?" " I don't know; but I pledge i^ 
head that when you get to Philadelphia I will have the transportation. 
" Then we go."* 

The transportation was ready on time ; Cornwallis was crushed ; and the 
war was ended.* Whose fight was it? Who won the fight? A mere finan- 

*See Turner's History of the Holland Purchase. 



ciai adventurer unlucky enough to be jailed for being behind with his pay- 
ments ! O no ; it was won by the most remarkable man that has ever appear- 
ed at any time in any country — by a man who will yet be honored by a ^ull 
recognition of his great, disinterested, and beneficient services. This great 
land will find room in its affection for the man to whom it owes so great a 
debt ; and it will pay that debt by a recognition commensurate with his service, 
though too long delayed. It will do justice not only to his services but to his 
character. His name among his contemporaries was the synonym of probity; 
any movement was half won when it had the countenance of Robert Morris. 
That we have a Constitution and a Union is largely due to the fact that 
Washington, Franklin and Morris sat in the convention that devised our 
great organic law. 

We are living here on his beautiful farm, the famous Holland Purchase, 
more famous still by having had for its first owner the patriot Robert Morris. 
It is pecularly appropriate that a movement should originate here to vindicate 
his name, a name in which we all feel a local interest, as well as the interest 
common to all citizens of the United States. No ; compare him not with Jay 
Cooke, with all due respect to the latter ; compare him rather with Solon and 
Epaminondas, with Alfred and Charlemagne. 



And now as to the movement to preserve the old Land Office of the Hol- 
land Purchase. We feel deeply interested in the matter at Batavia — not as 
Batavians, but as residents of the Holland Purchase. We hope that all resi- 
dents of the Holland Purchase, or further still, that all residents of land once 
owned by Robert Morris, will feel the same interest. If they do, then the 
care and preservation of the venerable building will be as light as a feather 
on the surface of the water. 

We have started the movement for the preservation because we think that 
the reasons for its preservation are numerous and weighty. We have started 
the movement now because we think it is not a moment too soon. In a grow- 
ing town such an old building is imperiled in many ways. The march of im- 
provement sweeps up to the immediate premises. There is no sentiment in 
ordinary real estate transactions ; the order for demolition is precipitated both 
by the onward sweep of improvements and by the last uses to which such a 
building is applied. It is rented to anybody for any purpose whatever, and it 
is rented by those who have no interest in its care. If it escape actual calam- 
ity in the form of fire or winds, it is nevertheless rendered constantly more 
decrepit, and so more and more out of keeping with its surroundings. Should 
demolition v/ait, it would only wait until ruin should make demolition not 
'^''y inevitable but necessary. But demolition does not wait such an extreme 
age ; the old Land Office had reached a point where it was in positive 
janger. 

Hence the movement was' not a moment too soon, if the building merited 
preservation. The Old South Church and Fanueil Hall as structures are sad- 
ly out of keeping with the imperial blocks with which they are flanked to-day ; 
but their glorious associations shed around them a halo that more than over- 
balances their modest proportions and their fadeft material. Let real estate 
rise as it will — a thousand dollars a foot — ten thousand dollars a foot — patriotic 



15— 

f emembrance says to the mighty wave of commerce : ' ' Thus far shall thoii 
go, and no farther ; here shall thy proud waves be stayed. These are the altars 
at which civic devotion shall pay its homage ; these are the altars at which 
civic devotion shall be fired. Men, after all, are higher than merchants and 
merchandise; and here we train up men — patriotic citizens." 

The same devotion has seized upon Mount Vernon, upon Carpenters' 
Hall, upon the Headquarters at Newbui-g, and upon the Headquarters at 
Tappan, and has seized upon them for the same identical uses. 

The Old Land Office is a great land-m^rk in the history of the United 
States ; and to be a land-mark in the history of the United States is to be a 
land-mark in the history of mankind ; for the United States in its brief exis- 
tence has reversed the tides of history, has made itself the fountain instead of 
the receptacle, a fountain from which waves of mighty and benificent influ- 
ence have steadily rolled back upon all the old communities of the world. 
But besides being involved in the making of the United States, the Old Land 
Office was involved to the very core in the making of Western New York. 
This great region of unapproachable scenery, and of unexampled fertility, 
fruitfulness. resources, and prosperity, is a little world in itself — and not such 
a very little world at that. It takes a dozen counties to hold it. It has one 
city of three hundred thousand inhabitants — ten times as large as the New 
York that wrestled with Howe and Clinton ; it has another city of over one 
hundred and fifty thousand ; and it is simply alive with corporations and com- 
munities that would be regarded as great towns by our Revolutionary fathers. 
Could they have had its j^resent resources to draw upon it would have in- 
creased their fighting power at least one-half. So it is no small matter that 
has sprung directly from and grown up around the Old Land Office which we 
now seek to save. 

When the colonists engaged in the deadly struggle. Western New York 
was a wilderness, broken only by the Indian trails, and by an occasional patch 
of Indian clearing. It could apparently respond to no calls for men or means ; 
and so it was not called upon. Yet if the transaction with the Hollanders in- 
volved any question of settling accounts, Western New York did contribute to 
the struggle ; and it contributed in such a way as to turn the fight when hope 
was gone. It contributed its own fertility;, and that was something in a time 
when something was scarce, and when it needed something to win. The at- 
tempt to win on nothing had been tried with great dash ; and it ended in 
egregious, in depressing, in ruinous failure. 

Washington fell back in masterly retreat befiore the victors of ; "L; "'^ t 
land, and before the treason of Lee. In the dead of winter he lar-cj 
remnant of his army in safety beyond the Delaware river. Howe st, 
go home, after duly garrisoning the country he had conquered. Wash 
conceived the great idea of springing back upon the secure foe, and of P • 
the victory out of his hands. In this audacious project he had the ap) 
and co-operation of just one man in the country, a kindly gentleman of 
adelphia. This gentleman saw what was right and wise; and he appla 
it. To the end of the struggle, to the adoption of the Constitution, to. 
launching of the nation, he never failed to see what was right and wise,", 
he never failed to champion it with all his might and main. To chamj 



—i6— 

what was right and wise was often to fly in the face of popular prejudices an» 
ignorance, and to bring down about one's devoted head a whirlwind of 
obloquy. But this remarkable man never counted the cost ; he never hesitated 
to burn bridges ; it was enough for him that the matter was right and wise to 
induce him to "go in" like a very incarnation of pertinacity. Washington 
got through ; but it was because he always had this good genius by his side, 
with his unerring intellect and intuitions, with his unswerving loyalty to the 
lonely chief, with his mighty influence, and with his unyielding pertinacity. 
Damon was never very far away, when Pythias had need of him. 

Washington recrossed the river, crushed the unsuspecting garrison at 
Trenton, slipped away from Cornwallis' front, destroyed his reserves at Prince- 
ton, and got safely into winter quarters at Morristown. Howe did not go 
home ; the Revolution was decidedly on instead of off. But now came the real 
crisis of the war. The soldiers realized that they had been doing all this on 
nothing ; and they could not stand that. The children must have something 
to eat; and they must go home. Washington's strategy was not equal to the 
enemy that struck him now. To check Burgoyne, to bring on the dilatory 
French, the armies must keep the field, and not go home. But the soldiers 
were determined to relieve their children first, and if possible the country af- 
terwards. Washington knew that it was bootless to turn to Congress. Thathon- 
orable body was rich in what it had been using all along — nofhhig. But it 
needed so))icihing now. He turned to Damon. Damon had something — a 
matter of a few millions — as a result of his prudence and his attention to bus- 
iness. " Robert, the country has failed me. If I am not now extricated by 
you, all is lost." " You shall be extricated." Day and night Robert banged 
the knockers of Philadelphia capitalists. All were opportunely out of funds ; 
for they had nothing to invest in a hard-pressed rebellion. At last a shrewd 
old Quaker asked what security he had to offer? "My note and my honor." 
" Robert, it is enough; thee shall have the money." And so on the third day 
Robert was able to put $50,000 hard shiners into the empty treasure chest of 
the commander-in-chief. Disintegration was arrested , and the war went 
gloriously on to Saratoga and Monmouth. At last Congress learned that it 
could not do something with nothing ; so it asked Robert Morris, who had 
something and who knew how to get something, to take up the job. He took 
it up; and the war went gloriously on to Yorktownand Independence. Then, 
and not till then, did he lay the burden down. He was still destined, how- 
ever, to help make our Constitution, to launch our new Ship of State, and to 
build our National Capitol. 

in '77 he banged the doors of Philadelphia for money and got it; so in 

nd onward he banged the doors of all Europe for money, and got it. 

1 he was asked for his security ; and again he oft'ered his note and his 

r ; and again he was able to fill the empty treasury. Coriolanus, on de- 

ng for the last time from the walls of Rome, said to his mother : ' ' Mother, 

have saved Rome ; but you have destroyed your son." Robert Morris 

,ht have said to himself: " Robert, you have saved your country; but you 

/e destroyed yourself." There is a limit even to the strength of a Titan. 

16 long and devoted use of that note and honor never affected the latter; 

it it took the foundation from under the former. The millions vanished into 



—77— 

the maelstrom of the extraordinary Revolutionary finances and Robert Mor- 
ris emerged a ruined man. He endeavored to retrieve his fortunes ; but the 
exhausted giant had to succumb. One of his first ventures was to buy West- 
ern New York. But he could not hold it. The larger part went in bulk to 
the very men who had advanced money on his note and honor in the time of 
his country's greatest need; and thus the famous Holland Pixrchase became 
one of the interesting facts in the history of New York State and the nation. 
I do not aver that the Hollanders paid him for the land with his own obliga- 
tions; but there is a strong probability that something of that kind entered 
into the transactions. His affairs were so involved in the end that no one 
could get track or trace of them. More pathetic than his incarceration in a 
debtors' prison was his constant attempt while there to get through the laby- 
rinth of his accounts, and to find, what he truly expected, a surplus sufficient 
to satisfy his creditors and clear that precious " honor" from any imputation 
of fraud. But it is a fact that Robert Morris owned the Holland Purchase; 
and it is a fact that he signed the deed that made the Holland Purchase. It 
is a fact that every piece of real estate in Western New York has at the basis 
of its title one of the greatest names in history — the name of a patriot of 
spotless integrity and of unexampled devotion — the name of a man of 
peerless intellect — the name of a man with such a will as makes history, by 
making all the world bend to it. 

These facts alone are sufficient in my eyes to make the Old Land Ofhce a 
monument of the Revolutionary struggle and to make the Holland Purchase 
almost holy ground. It should be saved if for these considerations alone. It 
should be put into a condition to carry its sturdy walls through a decade of 
centuries and tell the coming generations of the good and great deeds of a 
thousand years ago. 

The relation of the Holland Pui-chase to the Revolution may be briefly 
summarized as follows : There was a time when Independence had nothing to 
uphold it but sums of money advanced by Hollanders. They sent the needed 
omething to needy America. They sent it not through their faith in a weak 
Congress and jarring foolish States, but through their faith in a capable and 
honorable business man, who pledged his private credit to the re-payment of 
the accommodations which he sought. They sent something to America at 
the call of Morris ; and they came and got something out of America. They 
got the fertility of Western New York; and they got it from the hands of 
Robert Morris. America proved no bad investment to them. 

Everybody was paid in one way or another except the great Curtius of 
the awful time, whose eight millions were but his armor, when he sprang full- 
panoplied into the yawning gulf of his country's terrible need. 

But I will descend from the greater argument and take up the nearer and 
perhaps more palpable reasons for the preservation of this historic building. 

The preservation of family heir-looms does credit to human nature. It is 
an answer to the appeal of the past not to be forgotten. 

•' To live in hearts we leave behind. 
Is not to die." 

Grandfather's chair may be a very humble piece of f urniture ; but it is 
prized beyond all price because it is grandfather's chair. He used it while he 



( 
\ 



^as winning an honorable name for his descendants. He left them his integ- 
ity and this chair. Incidentally he left them provision for their maintenance, 
"hey forget his dollars ; but they remember him and the chair. They remeni - 
er him through the chair. Each house has its particular heir-loom. The 
)ld Land Office is a common reminder of all the grandfathers and great- 
grandfathers of Western New York. The frequent pilgrimages to the Land 
)ffice was a feature of their lives. They viewed again and again its sturdy 
/alls; they stepped in and out again and again over its threshold ; they found it 
lie center of all their interests ; the topic of much of their discourse. It was to 
lem a social, religious and political headquarters, while they felled the trees 
nd let the sunlight down through the woods to invite production in the fer- 
le soil. There it stands, the same identical structure. That grandfather 
nd great-grandfather could wish it so, is in itself sufficient reason to Western 
Jew York to save that building from destruction. 

It speaks not only of past lives, but also of most wonderful vicissitudes. 
Vhen it was planted at the junction of the Indian trails and began shedding 
le seeds of civilization into the wilderness, it was then a great and imposing 
difice. As its seed bore fruit its consequence as an architectural triumph 
aled before the greater elegance and magnificence of its own prosperous off- 
pring. It is a Sabine gra.iifather walking the streets of imperial Rome. A 
icaurus or a Maecenas may smile at the plain old gentleman ; yet, but for the 
ilain old gentleman, Scaurus and Maecenas would not have been there, 
icaurus and Maecenas were able to look below the surface ; and I am sure that 
hey would have suppressed the rising amusement at the old gentleman's 
' style," and have welcomed the Great Past to their bosom. As to style, I 
[oubt whether John Starke, or General Green, or Benjamin Franklin would 
te entirely at ease to-day in the country which they saved. Their' s was not 
, bad style ; it was only an old style — a somewhat sober style, in perfect keep- 
ig with the conditions of life at that period. Men are mercifully spared from 
ijection into a generation to which they do not belong. Buildings, on the 
ontrary, being more enduring, have to suffer the progressive pressure of con- 
rast. 

But it is well that it is so. An old thing should look old. An old thing 
.mong the new is, in itself, presumptive evidence that it has a claim to pre- 
ervation. It has ceased to be a factor in affairs; it has become a guest 
Western New York is very bright; it is spank span new. The only old thin^ 
n it is this famous old building on the bank of the Tonawanda; and I believe 
hat Western New York will act toward that venerable structure as a gener- 
ous and cherishing host. For the sake of its great associations, its plain 
;arb will be forgiven ; and I trust that it will not only be tolerated, but that it 
vill be made the guest of honor. 

But the building will not be entirely without a function. It will gather to 
tself and shelter within its spacious interior, all manner of relics relating to 
he settlement and growth of this interesting region. As a school of instruc- 
ion in history, it need not blush for its uses among the more ambitious mod- 
ern buildings. 

It has tasted the bitter dregs of degredation ; it has fully exemplified the 

)ld ejaculation: _j' 

" To what base uses do we come at last 1 " 



\ 



—19 

But it is to be rehabilitated, and to gain a higher respectabiUty than it 
ever before possessed. A person of refinement may become reduced ; but he 
never becomes vulgar. Let prosperity get around to him again, and he puts 
it on with.the ease of an every day garment. He can bear a new prosperity 
because he is " to the manner born." The Old Land Office has known mis- 
fortune ; but it has never known a vulgar hour. It had its birth m the very 
essence of refinement and culture. It was long the magnet to which all re- 
finement in this region gravitated ; it was long the luminary from which all 
refining influences were shed abroad over this region. Americans cannot 
stand a-formal aristocracy; but they can stand all the true gentility that they 
can get among them. It is said by good thinkers that the best education must 
flow from the university downward, rather than that the primary schools 
should be trusted to evolve their own development. The Old Land Office has 
been the university to this entire region. Intelligence and refinement would 
unfold in the woods if you give them time enough. The Old Land Office 
made the woods intelligent and refined at once. It has waited in patience for 
its brilliant students to get around to it; and when they get around to it the 
decent old edifice will never express a false note, will never drop a single 
solecism. It has done a great work ; it can do a greater ; it is to the interest of 
Western New York as well as its duty to start this old seminary on its second 
and greater career. 

" While stands the Cohseum, Rome shall stand ;" 
When falls the Coliseum, Rome shall fall." 
While stands the Land Office the Holland Purchase shall stand; for while 
that structure is in sight it carries its old boundaries with it. It stands for a 
domain. It preserves the unity of Western New York; though arbitrary 
county lines have cut it up into fragments. The Land Office preserves the 
autonomy of the region, the real unity, the unity of common origin, common 
c .nditions, common toils and triumphs. Let it stand, if only as a common 
bond of amity among all these brethren of the west. 



I desire to say a few words about the recent "Life of Robert Morris," 
written by Professor William G. Sumner, of Yale college. Professor Sumner 
is a very distinguished scholar ; and when I learned that he had written a 
biography of Robert Morris I expected to enjoy a rare treat. About twenty 
years ago it began to dawn upon me that a very great man had passed across 
the horizon of our affairs and that the historians had almost overlooked him. 
My subsequent reading and reflection have tended only to confirm that dawn- 
ing conviction and to bring out more and more clearly to my mind the 
colossal personality of that neglected and forgotten man. I have awaited 
with eagerness the American Plutarch who would seize with avidity upon 
such a fine overlooked subject, and give us another immortal classic. Angelo 
was seized with a fury of attack at sight of a fine piece of marble ; I was sure 
that the coming Plutarch would glow with creative energy at sight of the 
neglected Morris. I was prepared to find the longed-for Plutarch in Profes- 
sor Sumner. I regret to say that I have been both extremely disappointed 
and deeply pained by the perusal of his book. The disappointment I might 
waive ; but the pain compels me to speak out. I am disappointed with the 



—20 

literary qualities of the book ; but I do not intend this as a critique. I am 
pained with the doctrine of the book : and I do intend this as a protest. If 
Professor Sumner should choose to g'ive us a book as bald in style as the 
Saxon Chronicle, as disjointed as a dictionary, and as colorless as a brick of 
manufactured ice, I might be sorely disappointed, but I would not say a word. 
That is a question of taste, and the world takes care of such matters. I 
would not say a word, but I might have my preferences in the matter ; I 
might prefer the artistic structure and fervid style of Macaulay, or the mas- 
terly analyses of Plutarch. But furthermore I am often charitable as to form, 
even though I may not like the form. Men have a right to strike out on new 
lines, and make experiments. I don't like Walt W'hitman's style for exam- 
ple ; but I am quite willing to give it a trial. It is not without its admirers ; 
and we know not yet what the final verdict may be in regard to it. Nor 
would I be understood as condemning Saxon Chronicles and dictionaries. 
On the contrary I consider them very valuable books in their respective 
spheres. 

Professor Sumner could do his country a great service by making new 
Saxon Chronicles. They would be excellent data from which literature could 
be made. But after an experience with his present book I would advise him 
not to draw any conclusions. Just leave the facts strung along to speak for 
themselves. 

I did not know but that Professor Sumner had hit upon a new form of 
biography. Michael Angelo said that the sculptor does not create ; he 
simply sees the angel in the stone and hastens to knock away the superfluous 
pieces, so that the angel may emerge. I did not know when I began reading 
this extraordinary book but that Professor Sumner was about to pursue the 
Angelo method ; and that if we followed him carefully we would see the 
angel emerge. Sumner could then have the triumph of bringing truth to 
light, rather than of simply stating what truth is. Sure enough the angel 
began to emerge. But I thought that this emergency was a little disturbing 
to the professor ; it was not just what he expected ; it was not what he wanted ; 
he hurried away from those spots where the emergence was dangerously 
imminent (or rather eminent); he hastened to the other side of the stone, and 
there chipped away bravely. At last he throws off the mask and positively 
declares that it is not an angel that he is looking for at all, but some other kind 
of character. But the angel emerged all the same. Bad as the book is, with 
all its omissions, with all its inuendoes. with all its insinuations, with all its 
open attacks, with all its unjust construction of facts, with all its cruel lack 
of sympathy, with all its pitiless pursuit of a man in dire extremity, yet, if 
there had never been another word written on the subject of Robert Morris 
than this book, if there should never be another word written hereafter about 
him, this book alone would place him in the fore-front of all the great, the 
wise, the good, the pure, the gentle, the noble, that this world has ever pro. 
duced. The angel has emerged from the stone this time in spite of the 
sculptor. Baalam went on one mission ; he performed another. With no 
other basis than Sumner's book Washington, Franklin, Lincoln, and Grant 
need not blush for the hfth compeer that has stepped to their side. The 
words have been said and cannot be recalled. In that book enough has been 
said (more or less grudgingly) to sketch one of the greatest and best of char- 



— 21 — 

Jicters — a character strong, symmetrical, consistent, true. I am pained 
because the young will not see the character which Professor Sumner has 
unwittingly drawn, but rather the character which he has tried to draw. 
May I ask the patience of the reader to follow him a little ? He does not 
look for the fruit in the seed ; he skips over the whole question of antece- 
dents and training, merely stating the date and place of his birth, that his 
father was a merchant, and that the son was sent to Philadelphia at the age 
of 14 years and placed in the house of the Willings. The boy was the head 
of the house at 20; and yet this does not strike the professor as being an>- 
thing remarkable. Yet it is the most remarkable thing of the kind on record. 
Hired boys do not usually get to the rear end of such firms until they are in 
the forties ; they do well if they get to the head of them in the sixties. What 
an implied story of good antecedents and careful nurture, of brilliant abili- 
ties, steady habits, and strict attention to business! "The reconstruction 
of the firm indicates an infusion of youth and enterprise." That word 
"youth " seems to me an inadequate and altogether misleading description 
of the case. Another great genius said when taunted with his youth: " The 
atrocious crime of being a young man I will not attempt to palliate, nor do I 
deny." It could not be wealth that placed him at the head of the firm. In 
his father's estate " the personal property was nearly S7,ooo" — a mere drop 
in the bucket in a great shipping business. It might pay the office rent for 
a single year. True, "mention was made in his father's will of some real 
estate ;" but it was all a small matter ; it was brains and character that won, not 
money. By strict attention to business he was able twenty years later to lose 
eight millions in the Revolution. 

His sterling character and abilities gained him the respect not 'y of 
his employers but of the best people of the time ; he was able to marry into 
the best family of Pennsylvania, his wife being a sister of Bishop White, and 
the most cultivated woman of her time. These things are very significant to 
ordinary historians. They carry their own comment, even if the historian 
should slide over them. "Morris signed the non-important agreement of 
1765;" and therefore, for the sake of his country, struck a deadly blow at his 
own business. Yet we are asked later on to believe that he had an insane 
desire for wealth. While his ships were rotting at the idle wharf " he was 
on a committee of citizens who forced the stamp distributor of Pennsylvania 
to desist from the administration of his office;" and thereby became espe- 
pecially obnoxious to the government eleven years before any one thought 
that it would cease to rule in America. Hampden and Elliot could do no 
more. "In June, 1775, he was appjinted on the committee of safety for 
Pennsylvania " — a pestiferous nest of traitors, in the eyes of the government. 
He had already imperiled his business and his life, and made no ado about 
it. There was certainly nothing to pose for in all this ; there was nothing in 
it to feed any of the forms of vanity with which he is charged. It just marks 
ten years of consistent and steady defiance by one who had much to lose and 
nothing to gain except his country's libeity. "Being a member of these 
three bodies at one time, we are not surprised to find him declaring that his 
time was occupied with public affairs to the injury of his private business." 
" Declaring," mind you, but not complaining. How does this concession of 
PUr author that Robert Morris performed his public duties at great private 



loss, tally with the intimations further on that he was in office "for revenue 
only." " After he became a member of congress he was absorbed in the work 
of that body." That is t,he kind of patriot he was ; no half measures with 
him if business went to the canines. " He was appointed a member of the 
secret committee of correspondence." More deadly treason. But the people 
knew their man, if Professor Sumner does not. What sterling patriotism, 
what ability, what judgment, what tact, \vhat delicacy, what discretion, did 
membership on those committees require ! These qualities were conceded 
by his appointment ; and we never hear that the masters of the time or the 
public had to recast their estimate of him. Not only in the business but in 
it to the very core — at the very root of the matter — "absorbed," as though 
he had no private business. He had given the latter a momentum in the pre- 
vious twenty years that kept it going somewhat. He had made a success of 
the former by being " absorbed " in it ; he was destined to make just as com- 
plete a success of history by the exercise of the same traits of character, the 
same qualities of mind. Is there any hint of the peculator, the speculator, 
or the Dives in all this ? Far from it. Shame on the thought ! 

" Morris was one of those who hesitated about the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence." Washington was another ; and every other man in the country, 
except Samuel Adams, was a third. They were fighting for rights ; the idea 
of independence came later. " He voted against the resolution in favor of 
independence on the 2d of July;" because he wanted to learn first what the 
Howes had to offer. "He signed the Declaration, however, on the 2d of 
August ;" after the chances of hanging for doing so had very much im- 
proved. It was but a few drys prior to the disastrous defeat on Long Island. 
" We can clearly see that Washington, for the manceuver that he executed 
at Trenton, really had no support from anybody but Morris." What praise ! 
The whole world can see the wisdom of the manceuver after it was made. 
What praise for Morris that he could see the wisdom of it beforehand ! What 
comfort to Washington that in that moment of dire extremity, with an enemy 
triumphant, with a country despairing, with treason in the camp, with friends 
falling away from him, with cabals forming around him, that he had one 
loyal heart to whom he could unbosom himself, one capacious mind that 
could understand him! "The three great crisis of the Revolution — the 
attack on Trenton, Burgoyne's surrender, and Cornwallis's surrender." Yes, 
and we see that at the first Morris alone was present to help vhe deserted, 
chieftain through. But for Morris the other two crises never would have 
been passed. The short, sharp campaign of Trenton and Princeton made 
Washington one of the great military captains of history. He was just as 
great on his masterly retreat ; but people do not understand retreat 
as well as victory. When Fabius became a Marcellus then even 
Fabius was understood. All could see that the war was on instead 
of over. The British redoubled their efforts and prepared to break 
the colonies in two. The real crisis came after Princeton. The terms 
of the veteran troops were expiring; and they were resolved to go home. 
Had they gone home what would have become of the campaign of 1777, the 
decisive campaign of Burgoyne? Had they gone home what would have 
become of the war? It would have ended in the defeat of the patriots ; the 
revolution would have collapsed ; Wasliington said so. That fatal disinte- 



—^3- 

gtation was arrested by a man who never lost his head in a crisis — the great 
second genius of the war. Nothing but hard money would hold the soldiers ; 
the military chest contained nothing but " Continental pasteboard." Robert 
Morris hurried to Philadelphia and, after vain appeals to patriotism, he 
pledged his private credit. At this the money flowed into his hands, and 
he was able to bring back fifty thousand shining, dollars. The soldiers re- 
mained ; Burgoyne fell ; the French came in — all through the devotion and 
standing of one private citizen. If I were to select the man who has estab- 
lished a pre-eminent claim to write our annals, I would select John Fiske. 
This is his judgment on the matter : " Except for the sums raised by Robert 
Morris, of Philadelphia, even Washington could not have saved the country.'* 
This is one of the points at which Professor Sumner seems in a hurry to get 
to the other side of the stone. It is now twelve years since Morris ordered 
his own business to wither ; and since he began to put all kinds of halters 
about his neck. And he has been flying night and day ever since. For 
what? To pose? To feed on avaricious maw? The army remained ; the 
sequel was Saratoga and Monmouth. It was well for this country that 
Robert Morris in his youth "never applied hot and rebellious liquors to his 
blood ;" for it needed the physical strength of a giant, as well as the intellect 
and heart of a Titan, to meet the demands which were now upon him, and 
which were never for a moment off him to the end of the war — the demands 
of a self imposed devotion to his struggling country. Had he even been 
stricken with temporary illness we were lost. Stronger language than this 
has flowed from pens having far better claims than mine to speak of Ameri- 
can history. Who will say that this is not a great man? It may be urged in 
reply that it was generous to get the money, though not particularly great. 
We will see la er. But where is the flaw in the character up to the present? 
It was the "honor" of Robert Morris that controlled, and was to control for 
years yet to come, the forces of the world. The revolution was won by char- 
acter ; men trusted Washington and his inseparable Damon, Robert Morris. 
But to return to the chipping. " He had begun to urge, from the first year 
of the war, that congress should employ competent executive officers upon 
proper salaries. He urged this as a measure of economy and efliciency in 
administration." Could anything better be urged, after a hundred years to 
think it over? 

It is noticeable that no recommendation of Robert Morris ever needed 
to be modified ; it is noticeable that every one of his recommendations has 
become incorporated into our civil polity; it is noticeable that scarcely a 
single great feature of our present government was not at some time recom- 
mended by Robert Morris. Does the great man appear yet? Or is it only a 
fussy money-bags? Lowell speaks of "men with empires in their brains." 
"His large head seems as well adapted for the government of an empire as 
that of most men ;" I quote from our author the words of Prince de Broglie. 
But how were the above recommendations received? "We do not know of 
any one at that time who seconded his efforts in this direction." How lonely 
is a man who is a century ahead of his time ! 

"Congress was under the influence of a number of prejudices ;" Robert 
Morris was under the influence of conviction alone from first to last. It was 
almost amusing to see this grand man time and again put down his solitary 



-24— 

cane, and say to congress, and the country, and the world ; " Thus far will 
I go ; and that is the end of it ; you must meet me there." They met him. 
Is is a great man yet? An intellect to see the way amid all the fogginess of 
the times ; a will to force things along the way amidst all the obstructions of 
the times ! And those were the "times that tried men's souls ;" and those 
were the times that tried men's bodies ; and those were the times that tried 
men's intellects. I don't know how you can get any better tests of greatness 
than those which Robert Morris triumi^hantly withstood at every moment of 
his public career. I have already shown, through our author, that his pri- 
vate career was phenomenal beyond all precedent. "He thought that all 
else should be laid aside in oider to devote all available strength to an ener- 
getic prosecution of the war ;" and he ever practised what he preached. The 
trimmers who were spreading their sails to catch the popular breeze would 
have left the Revolution stranded ; this man with his cane going down from 
point to point, forced the Revolution through. 

"It seemed to him that the quarrels about liberty and rights could be 
settled after peace and independence had been won." And it seems to us 
that everything that seemed right to him was right, ia right, and always will 
be right. His extraordinary intelligence penetrated at once to the laws of 
everything that he had anything to do with : and his conscience always com- 
pelled him to follow the strict letter of the law. He was never without the 
courage of his convictions ; he was always ready, if need be, to stand alone. 
Even according to our author he stood alone time and again, with his toe at 
the line and his lip set, waiting for the world to get around to him. It always 
got around to him when he took that attitude. Any nonentity can be obsti- 
nate ; it takes the greatest of the great to know when to be wisely obstinate, 
to know when the time for concessions is past. Robert Morris could rule; 
but he could not ruin; none knew better than he when it was safe and wise 
to give way. In that age of jealousies and compromises there was no man 
more tactful. But never did a concession of his carry with it a suggestion of 
craven fear : never was a concession of his other than a master stroke in the 
interest of the public good. 

In all his sublime and timely obstinacy he never crossed wills with 
Washington but once. They saw things alike ; and together they pulled all 
along ; like knew its like by instinct, and cleaved to it ; no wedge of separa- 
tion could enter between them ; it was Damon and Pythias ; it was Castor and 
Pollux ; and before those Dioscuri the enemies of freedom, of sound econ- 
omy, and of good government fell back in ignominious defeat. The whole 
Revolutionary period was the constant battle of Lake Regillus, in which 
those God-like youths continued to infuse into mere corporals' guards the 
spirit and power of conquering hosts. The benignant countenance of Pythias 
is seen all over the land — in marble, in bronze, in print, in paint — an inspira- 
tion to succeeding generations of patriots. But we look in vain, as yet, for 
the mild countenance of the unobtrusive Damon. I say as yet ; for I have 
faith that the Plutarch will yet appear who will resuscitate the forgotten 
Damon, and re-introduce him to his much indebted countrymen. Castor has 
his shaft of marble shooting live hundred feet into the blue sky. and over- 
topping all other works of man as much as his character over-topped that of 
all other mortals. Pollux, according to our author, lies in a dark and chilly 



25— 

enclosure, with nothing above him but a horizontal slab inscribed with the 
dates of his birth and death, and stating incidentally that he had been the 
" Financier of the United States during the Revolution." " His resting 
place is therefore a damp and dark corner." No comment. Castor was 
true to the last to his more mortal brother ; and in the last year of his life he 
sends the "affectionate regards of General and Mrs. Washington to Robert 
Morris." The message went to a man old and poor, and who had been for 
two years languishing in a debtors' prison, shut up with the yellow fever, and 
submitting with the meekness of a second Job to the direst blows that cruel 
fortune could devise. I believe that Job once cried out in his anguish ; 
Morris never uttered a sound nor gave a single sign. The sage of Athens 
did not sip the hemlock more calmly than did Morris take the bitter dregs 
that came to him in the evening of his existence out of his glorious and bene- 
ficent life. Mark Tapley saw one compensation in adversity cheerfully 
borne— an opportunity to get credit worth having. Morris maintained his 
cheerfulness without seeking any credit at all ; he simply did it on principle, 
that it was a philosopher's duty. There was one thing he yet could do, and 
he would do it : he could avoid breeding snow storms to chill other lives. 
Our author is good enough to call this ' grim pleasantry and a desperate 
rsconciliation to facts." I fear that he would see nothing but "grim pleas- 
antry and desperate reconciliation to facts " in the cases of Socrates and 
Phocion. 

" In April, 1779. (after he had suffered two years of imprisonment) Gov- 
verneur Morris visited Robert Mosris in the prison and dined with him and 
Mrs. Morris there." Rather a change from the mansion and table where 
princes and potentates and all worthy people partook of the friendly and tactful 
hospitality of this same Robert and Mrs. Morris ! Rather a change from the 
mansion and table which supplied their comforts to the elegant and fastidi- 
Washington on the occasion of every visit of his to Philadelphia. He trusted 
' ' Robert " always ; hv lived with him whenever he could. And when Wash- 
ington came as President to live in Philadelphia, Robert succeeded in per- 
suading him to occupy the house that had always been his home there. 
'■ The latter two (Mr. and Mrs. Morris) kept up high spirits, and the visitor 
was distressed to see that Morris had made up his mind to his situation more 
than he could have believed possible." Mr. and Mrs. Morris did what they 
had always done— they entertained their guests as handsomely as their cir- 
cumstances would permit. The lady who smiled in prison was according to 
our author "the second lady at court ; as to taste, etiquette, etc., she is cer- 
tainly the first " This hospitality in prison has its counterpart in that of 
General Marion who graciously entertained the visiting British officer with 
a share of his solitary sweet potato. The officer on his return said to his 
superiors: "you can nev^er conquer a people who take adversity like that. 
I fear that Professor Sumner would never enter fully into the spirit of these 
things; for he seems to regard them all as "grim pleasantry." At Fort 
Sumter the soldiers ate their last crust amid exploding magazines and falling 
walls; they would have starved if that would have saved the fort ; as it was 
they demanded and obtained the " honors of war." At Bunker Hill the sol- 
diers stayed till their last shot was fired ; they would still have stayed, if that 
would have held the hill, I take it that true heroism consists in rising supe- 



— 26— 

rior to circumstances, and in maintaining an equable spirit and an exalted 
demeanor in the last extremity. The Roman sages used the expression 
" equal mind " to denote this supreme test of character. 

" The man resolved and steady to his trust, 

Inflexible to ill, and obstinately just, 
May the rude rabble's insolence despise. 
Their senseless clamors and unmeaning cries:— 
* * * 

Though the great frame of nature round him break. 

Into mad ruin and confusion hurled. 
He unconcerned would hear the mighty crack. 
And stand unmoved amid the crash of worlds." 

Two years of apparently perpetual imprisonment without a single scowl, 

and without a single note of repining ! And the cultured wife sharing it with 

him with the same high-bred resignation ! Is not this literally 

" Patience sitting by a monument 
And smiling extremely out of act "? 

It was worth all their losses and misfortunes to enable Robert Morris 
and his great-hearted wife to show their character under such supreme tests, 
to be photographed in such a setting. In looking into the countenance of 
Gouvernour Morris they looked into the face of their vanished affluence with- 
out a quiver. Greatness of soul could go no further. I know no picture in 
history that equals it. 

But to return from the aged philosopher in prison, let us follow the strong 
man in the arena. We left him at the beginning of the glorious Burgoyne 
campaign. " During December and January he may be said to have carried 
on the work of the continent." Our author might have said something here 
about Atlas and Titans ; but he didn't. I have already intimated that this 
seemed to be a ticklish spot with him ; the angel seemed to be getting dan- 
gerously near the surface ; so he judiciously hurries away to safer ground. 
Robert Morris was ruling the country, and was getting things round on time, 
— Saratoga. French Alliance. Monmouth. But he was not a usurper ; he did 
not seize the government which he wielded ; he simply accepted a govern- 
ment that in a manner slid onto him. It had been well for the country had 
congress continued to satisfy itself with the fiction of governing, and left the 
fact to Morris. But congress never ran away except when they scented some 
danger from afar ; then they would carry the fiction with them and leave the 
fact behind. That was ever Morris's opportunity. When the Gauls were at 
the threshold the people were sent away and the Roman senate remained. 
The senate remained behind this time ; but their aggregate number in the 
crisis was somewhat reduced. They numbered all told just one man. And 
he did not sit calmly at his door-way waiting to have his throat slit ; he 
waited to spring like a Hercules upon the Neniican lion and to strangle him 
in his arms. 

Things were fairly safe after Monmouth ; so congress took up the busi- 
ness again, and in the next two years succeeded In making a sorry mess of 
it. "The public men of the time truckled to public opinion to a degree 
modern men cannot understand," — consequently they will soon need Morris 
again '• At the close of 1780 the leading public men almost despaired of 



—27— 

the struggle." "Almost," but not quite ; for they had Robert Morris to fall 
back upon in the last extremi-y ; and they somehow felt that he might in 
some way pull them through. "To the public men in positions of responsi- 
bility, it seemed that everything might be lost." Naturally; for the job was 
manifestly too big for them. "Congress was driven ... to supersede 
the board ... of the treasury by a single competent officer." Exactly; 
just what Robert Morris wanted them to do four years earlier ; but there was 
too much "truckling" going on. They had at last to do a sensible thing or 
be totally shipwrecked. The breakers are just under the bow; the angry 
surf is roaring ; who will prevent the crash? " Robert Morris was regarded 
as the one man in the country for this office." Indeed ! What, this pecula- 
tor, this speculator, this fussy money-bags, this vain popinjay, this insanely 
avaricious man, the "only one" in a great nation that can save that nation 
from immediate destruction? Well, Mr. Sumner, I have heard of people 
who were compelled to use food that was not particularly appetizing to them; 
and when I come to look back upon that sentence of yours, and consider what 
a troublesome part of the stone you have reached, 1 must say that it is a 
brave one. It is a strong one ; the rhetorics would pass it ; I am now ready 
to say that there is literature in your book. " Morris was in command of the 
situation." He always was where things were as desperate as they could be; 
they never gave him anything but the worst kind of job. As long as there 
was a ghost of a chance of getting along without him they did not permit him 
to be "master of the situation." " It no doubt liattered his vanity." Oh, fie ! 
Mr. Sumner! You were brave a moment ago ; why did you not stay so? 
You seem to be panicky again, and to be making a wild dash to the other 
side of the stone. " No doubt," did you say? Well, I answer that there are 
men in the world, and there are men. "That all should turn to him at a 
moment of supreme crisis." Those were the only moments in which they did 
turn to him. They " all " always came to their senses when everything was 
almost lost. They stopped "truckling" just on this side of ruin. It was 
hardly giving Robert a fair chance ; but he did not split hairs. " As the 
one man who was indispensable to the country." You never spoke a truer 
word; there was just 'one indispensable " man in the Revolution; and I 
am very glad to see that you know it. What surprises me is that it starts no 
reflections in your mind, except the entirely gratuitous and utterly unworthy 
one that " it no doubt flattered his vanity." We would like to get all that 
kind of vanity that is readily accessible. I believe that some one reported 
to Lincoln that General Grant had a weakness. The martyred president in- 
stantly asked where he bought it, that he might get a stock out of the same 
receptacle for all the rest of his generals. I think you said that they " all " 
knew it. They would all know it to-day if all the historians were as frank as 
you. Good things will keep; Robert Morris's character and career will keep; 
whether the historians think to write him up or not ; indeed, even if some 
historian should try to write him down. 

" He had a clear idea of what he wanted and of what ought to be done." 
So clear, that when Adam Smith's book came out a few months later they 
" all " saw that Morris had told it all beforehand. " He also had very definite 
convictions." Just what 1 have been maintaining, thank you." " He there- 
fore set his conditions;" in other words he put the cane down. Just so; you 



—28 

are giving me emphatic corroboration at every step. " He insisted, however, 
and carried his point; " in other words they always yielded when his lip took 
on the straight line. " Morris was one of the first to recognize the immense 
importance of union among the States." Great idea; what a pity the others 
couldn't see it then. Thej^ wouldn't give him a union to work with; they 
gave him the job and left him to grapple with a lot of loose recalcitrant States. 
He did not put the cane down on this point; and so when they would not let 
him get through in a sensible manner he pulled them through by hook and 
by crook (but never by ways that are crooked). I will allow our great histor- 
ian, Professor Fiske, to voice this achievement; "That the government had 
in any way been able to finish the war after the downfall of the paper money, 
was due to the gigantic efforts of one great man — Robert Morris." Mr. Fiske 
IS usually calm and judicial; the utterance in this passage is Demosthenic. 
And it leaves him in no panic ; it is an angel that he is chipping for. I think 
that some allusions have been made to Tilans. Well "gigantic" is not very 
far from it. But I beg especially to call attention to the last two words, 
"great man." There are great generals, great financiers, great sculptors, 
"great historians, great biographers, etc. ; but when you have run your gamut 
through you reach the climax of all in a great man. I have seen different ap- 
pellations applied to Morris; but I have waited long for that happy and just 
characterization of Professor Fiske. I have seen the appellation "Great 
Financier" ajsplied to him until I am nauseated with it. I could bear " great 
patroit," " great soul," or some other similar epithet; but nothing tells it all 
so well as great man." 

" Who noble ends by noble means obtains, 
Or, failinfT, smiles in exile or in chains. 
Like jrood Aurclins, let him rei?n, or bleed 
Like Socrates, that man is f;reat indeed." 

In the above spirited lines the poet allows alternatives. Morris needed 
none, he covered all the conditions, and is therefore in a manner doubly great. 
He " obtained the noblest ends" by only " noble means;" he " smiled in exile 
and in chains" without "failing;" "like good Aurelins" he did "reign;" and 
he reigned through crises, the like of which Aurelins never knew. "Like 
Socrates" he did " bleed" at every physical, mental, and moral pore; and he 
bled with the same lamb-like and saintly resignation. 

He got the money and he got them through ; that sums up the doings of 
80-S3. He got them out of Scylla and Charybdis, even though they denied him 
a decent pair of oars. He grasped at any sticks that he could lay his hands 
upon and paddled the doomed vessel out into the offing. 

"Washington had long cherished a desire with the help of the French to 
dislodge the English from New York." And he intended to try it in '81. 
Here Pythias and Damon clashed for the first and only time. It ended in 
Damon's way; and it ended to Pythias's renown. The boldest thing in 
Morris's career was when he put the cane down to Washington. " Morris of 
course shrank from the enormous expense of that undertaking." That docs 
not tell it; he maintained that New York was not worth having. He held 
that if Washington could get in at all, which was very doubtful, the British 
would immediately drive him out again with their fleet. " It was then deter- 
mined to march against Cornwallis in Yirginia," So his obstinacy, which was 



~2Q— 

ftever ill-timed, but which was simply terrible when that cane came dowri, 
precipitated the most brilliant military movement in history. "When he 
found the demands upon him for money far exceeded the amount which he 
possessed (that is when he went to New York to wrestle with Washington) he 
gave none to anybody but brought it back." The cane was down, you see. 
Another patriot has left the immoi'tal shibboleth; " MilHons for defense; not 
one dollar for tribute " Morris's idea was " Millions for Yorktown, but not 
one dollar for New York." " Hence, it was then determined " — a beautifully 
indefinite proposition to cover a particularly dangerous part of the stone. No 
money for New York; but " millions of rations" had been sent to Greene in 
the Carolinas; and, quick as was Washington's march to Philadelphia, when 
he got there the road-sides were lined for miles with army wagons laden with 
provisions and other supplies needful in an active campaign. To facilitate rap- 
idity of movement other supplies were waiting at points along the Chesapeake. 
Morris "laid the train" in a double sense; the avenging fire sped along it 
and exploded the mine under Cornwallis's feet. Hostilities were ended; 
though the war dragged on two years longer. He got them temporarily into a 
safe offing. He got the money it seems by hook or by crook (but never by 
ways that are crooked.) We are told that he advanced $1,400,000 of his own 
money to fill those wagons. Our author says that this is probably ' ' apocry- 
phal." "Well, I leave him to fight that out; it is only a question of detail. 
The short of it is that he got them through ; and he held them through with 
his broken oars and his drift-wood sticks for two years longer — until Indepen- 
dence was definitely secured. When the job became small enough for the 
others to handle it again he turned it over to them and went back to his neg- 
lected and honey-combed business. I have said that in the twenty years of 
his young manhood he had given a momentum to his business that would keep 
it going awhile. But ten years is more than "awhile;" he found his own 
vessel hopelessly out of repair. By superhuman exertions he kept her afloat 
ten years longer ; and then she went to pieces after the manner of the over- 
worked "One Hoss Shay." But in that ten years in which he escaped the 
prison walls he was enabled to perform three other services for his country. 
He assisted in making the Constitution which he had been clamoring for for 
fourteen years ; he sat in the first Senate and helped Washington launch his 
first administration ; and he virtually settled the location of the National Capi- 
tol, We have seen him financiering under the most trying and distressing 
circumstances. He was now offered the opportunity to distinguish himself 
with the finest craft ever launched, and upon the fairest sea. He quietly de- 
clined and recommended the brainy young Hamilton. Hamilton straightened 
matters out on lines laid down by Robert Morris fifteen years before. 

The battle of opinion is always on ; terrific blows are given and received by 
those who never forget the amenities. It is unfair warfare to undertake to 
strike down the opinion by striking down the good man who entertains it. This is 
worse than persecution ; the hero can face the gallows calmly ; but he groans 
under defamation of character. When Epaminondas was asked why the sen- 
tence of death should not be passed upon him, he said that it should 
be passed upon him, for he had deliberately disobeyed a mandate 
of his country. But he craved that his countrymen would do jus- 
tice to his memory. He wished it carefully inscribed upon his tomb that he 



—JO - 

had disobcj-cd his country in order to save her and in order to bring her lasting 
prestige and renown, and not through any lower motive. With this assurance 
he was ready to embrace the block and face posterity. Then did it dawn upon 
the hearts of his countrymen that there is something higher than legal justice; 
there is that equity that brings the heart alone to trial. They spared their 
hero and condoned his noble crime. Morris was never even a constructive 
criminal ; ha had not only legal sanction for every act that he performed, but 
he also had with it the urgent appeal of his countrymen. He obeyed that 
appeal whenever the emergency was great enough to make obedience a duty. 
He did become a constructive criminal by becoming poor ; but that was a mis- 
fortune rather than a deliberate act. 

In the heat of passion even good men may make personal attacks which 
thej- afterwards sincerely regret. In the strife of factions there are always 
those who do not scruple to impugn the motives of their adversaries, and to 
deliberately blacken private character. It is the cowardly method of striking 
down the opinion by striking down its possessor ; it is the carrying out of the 
atrocious doctrine that " the end justifies the means." 

It is dangerous to go groping among the scurrillity of a by-gone time ; fir 
one may be caught warming up old" venom with which to asperse a pure char- 
acter no longer able to rise in its own defense. In our history we shall never 
be all on one side ; we shall alwaj-s have opposing houses ; and it is better so. 
Never will the good men be all in one party; and never will a man's opinion 
be the key to his private character. Morris could have escaped all obloquy 
had he stayed at the desk of his counting-house. But he was too brave and 
high-minded to do that. He accounted the rectitude of his intentions a suffi- 
cient safe-guard ; and with it he took all chances of annoyance and injury. 
"The men who have labored to influence public opinion in this direction, 
however, have always been unpopular." Please bear that in mind, Mr. Sum- 
ner, and be careful and charitable when you strike the reckless language of 
that unpopularity. Please remember how easy it was to screen ones self and 
what great moral courage it required to face the storm. Washington and 
Morris had this courage ; and the very things for which they were abused are 
the things for which they are venerated to-day, and for which they will be 
venerated to the end of time. Yes, the vile things that were said about 
Washington himself would make a large literature. " They have always had 
to contend with and overcome the traditional prejudices and the inertia of the 
popular bodies, while those who floated with the popular tide have enjoj-ed 
popularity and ease together." Please remember that you are sa%-ing this 
yourself, and that j-ou are saying it about Robert Morris. It is all that I 
have contended for ; and it is all that is necessary to establish his noble char- 
acter. I am glad that your book is written ; for this is the testimony of an op- 
ponent ; but I will be glad to see it succeeded by one that comes straight from 
the heart ; and that one we will put into the hands of our children. You have 
made a discriminating life of this good man necessary ; and the man who will 
prepare it will confer a boon. 

In W^estem New York we have a special interest in Robert iloms. He 
appears in our annals as the first proprietor of most of the beautiful Genesee 
country. He is one of us; and it is with clansmen's loyalty that we spring to 
arms against his defamers. We are not ashamed that our titles all I'uu back 



to that great man, that worthy gentleman. He lived in Philadelphia; and 
Philadelphia gives him a " cold, dark corner." He just appeared among us; 
and we give him the warmest place in our hearts, and will make as manful 
battle as we can for justice to him. He is the beginning of our history; the 
centuries of savagery led down to Robert Morris and civilization. We are 
glad that the epoch was a Titan — that the new era began with a moral and in- 
tellectual giant. As well strike down Arminius in Germany as Robert Moms 
along the banks of the Genesee. They may be able to forget him in Phil- 
adelphia ; we could not forget him here, if we would ; the slighest retrospect 
of our region compels us to go back to "the time of Robert Morris." But we 
don't want to forget him; we feel honored in dating our history trom a man 
who twice saved the Revolution from failure, and who did it as much by his 
" honor," his " credit," and his respectability, as by his imperial intellect and 
his sublime pertinacity. We feel honored in dating our history from a man 
who gave the United States its liberty, its independence, its Constitution, and 
its polit5^ and who did it without incurring a single stain upon his integrity, 
without disturbing in the least the quiet simplicity of his character — the trust- 
ed friend of Washington. "Morris was the one man to whom Washington 
unbent." The words of his own step-son — the voice out of his own household 
— the e.xcathedra assertion of Morris's personal worth. " Probably because " 
— be careful, Mr. Sumner ; you are on dangerous ground ; you are now imput- 
ing motives to Washington. I know that you are at the tenderest part of 
your stone; you have my sympathies; but — forbear. 

That is what Washington thought of him. How did the others regard 
him? "Mr. Otis said that Morris was esteemed next to Washington ;" and 

Mr. Otis appends no "probably" at all. "Was esteemed" by whom? 

There is only one interpretation to that sentence ; Washington and the implied 
subject of that passive verb esteemed only good men. We all have our limi- 
tations. I could not write a book on music ; and I would not try it. Never 
can a painting of mine grace the gallery wall of a Columbian World's Fair. 
The Lord has blessed me with powers to admire far beyond my powers to 
create. "Along the smooth sequestered vale of life" I am content to pursue 
"the even tenor of my way." I cannot make the rose that blooms for my 
delight ; but I can resent the vandalism that would ruthlessly trample it down. 
I cannot make the flowers of art ; but I can storm with wrath when the de- 
stroyer's hand gets among them. But the flower of all creation is a noble 
human character; 

" An honest man's the noblest work of God." 

The hand of the iconoclast reaches the height of audacity when it assails 
a good name. History has no meaning except in the types of men it has pro- 
duced; a much greater offence than the destruction of Washington's statues, 
would be an attempt to destroy his identity. The hero worship that' 
consists in admiring a man who displayed the extreme of fortitude in con- 
tending for a great principle, is the hero worship that the world needs. The 
present is inspired to noble deeds by remembrance of the past, Webster knew 
what chord to touch when with the names of good men north and south he 
fired the popular heart to the defense of the Union thirty years before it was 
directly assailed. Men have a prevision of victory when a supreme effort is 
to be made ; when he sat down in cosy comfort that night before his reply to 



—32- 

iiayne, he knew that he had won not onh' the battle of the forum but also tlae 
greater battle of the field. He knew that his words would resound like clarion 
notes should the question ever come to the stern arbitrament of war; he knew 
that " Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable I" would call 
millions of citizens from their vocatitms to the defense of the Star Spangled 
Banner. The blaze of that cavernous deep dark ej-e was the blaze of prophecy. 
He knew that they would save the Union; for he told them what "it was 
worth " in terms which they could undersiand. It was worth just what it cost 
— the heroic sacrifices of "good men and true." Marathon, Theimopylae, 
Salamis, Platiea and Bannockburn, are only names to sum up cases of indi- 
vidual heroism. The heroism consisted in baring the breast for a principle. 
Thousands of more destructive conflicts have passed into oblivion, because 
they were fought by the victors solel)" for advantage. But the names men- 
tioned above have furnished a battle cry in ever}- subsequent struggle for the 
right. How much greater is the force of the appeal when one is called to his 
duty by the heroism of his own country. The ghostly leaders of Regillus 
were no empty fiction ; the shades of departed worthies do hover above the 
banners of every new host arraj-ed in the battle for right. The magician who 
can evoke them is the real leader of the time. 

" One blast upon his bugle horn 
Were worth a thousand men " 

I have no sympathy with the precisionism that lays its clammy hand of 
destruction upon the harmless little myths that spring up in popular tradition. 
Those myths are often an inspiration to youthful minds; and the\' are quite 
likely to have at their basis a solid kernel of fact To destroy them is to take 
much food from youthful enthusiasm ; it is to take from youth the historj- 
which it can understand; and it is to mutilate history itself. It is the people's 
way of telling their own story ; and in them the youth sits down at the fireside 
of his ancestors. Historical evidence proved that there was no Troy, and 
that Homer had a marvelous imagination. The people said that there was a 
Troy ; and Dr. Schlieman believed them. He admitted that the precisionists 
had proved their case ; but he went over just the same and dug up Troy. It 
was still questioned whether there had been such persons as Agamemnon and 
Menelaus ; so he went over to the other side and dug up Mycena?. The Berk- 
leyan philosophers proved that there is no food; but when the dinner time 
came around they somehow did not exactly relish an empty plate. So the 
wisest of men sometimes find themselves staggered by the troublesome facts 
of history. You may explain them away, argue them away, denj' their ex- 
istence; but, like Banquo's ghost they will not down; when you get through 
i\xey are still there. Common report is a wonderful receptacle of history ; and 
it has its basis in the contact with concrete facts. Who will doubt that this 
generation has a pretty clear notion of Sheridan? Yet it is quite among the 
possibilities that some one a hundred years hence may arise hnd prove that 
we don't know anything about him at all. I prefer to get my ideas of Socrates 
from some one who has seen him. A utilitarian philosopher of the nineteenth 
centur)-, after spending a night with the Sophists, may claim that Xenophon 
and Plato knew nothing about their master ; but I prefer all the same to listen 
to Xenophon and Plato. There ma}- be a pardonable bias in the minds of 
these admiring youths faithful to the end, and affecti(Miately j^ainting him for _ 



—33— 

posterity; but it is far less misleading than the bittef prejudices of those bad 
men whom Socrates had stung to the quick and driven out of the schools. 
But there is always a consensus of opinion that adjusts the portrait to very 
correct proportions. And what perfect pictures the people do draw ; Hector 
is Hector, and nobody else ; Andromache has her sweet individuality ; even 
Astyanax is not the generic baby. Brutus and Tarquin could be identified on 
the streets. Bruce and Wallace will never be confounded. And so I take it 
that remotest ages will see Lincoln just as we see him, not in the light of his 
photograph, but in the light of his character ; and they will see him as we see 
him, because we have seen him. There is no other law in the matter. Some- 
body may try on the basis of musty and obsolete documents, on things said in 
a corner, and so on, to reconstruct his character so as to suit the writer's pre- 
possessions; but the wave of a world's consensus will move right over such an 
experiment, and engulf it in a prompt oblivion. It is a pretty well establish- 
ed principle that all the world knows more than any man in it; and woe to 
the man who would reverse the principle. In recognition of this principle it 
is the settled practice of psychologists to study the content of the terms used 
by the people as a whole in speaking of any of the mental activities. They 
find in this study the side-lights which they know must be there. The idea is 
the aggregate result of millions of shrewd observations; and the analyst finds 
a golden mine of laboratory work well done. The people live to teach. 

You cannot by writing change the altitude of Mont Blanc; you cannot 
argue away the snowy crown of that "Monarch of mountains," bathed in 
eternal sunlight ; but I deplore the temporary mental confusion which you 
can produce by the attempt to do so. 

In defense of Robert Morris I have called up his life and deeds to speak 
for him ; I have cited the opinions of the highest authorities of his time; I 
have called into court his neighbors, his friends, his public to speak for him ; 
I have attempted to force his critic to construct the apotheosis of the great 
hero whom he would belittle. I might have multiplied citations to a volumin- 
ous extent, but I have tried to make a few characteristic types do the work 
of the whole. I will now permit the worthy defendant to speak for himself. 
The Spartan mother told her son to come back with his shield or on it. A 
French King sent back to his Capital the dispatch: "All is lost but honor." 
This was a note of triumph ; and his people did not put on sack-cloth and 
ashes. Our Samson shorn of the locks which he had deliberately scattered 
right and left in the service of his country, staggers at last to his fall: "I am 
sensible that I have lost the confidence of the world as to my pecuniary abil- 
ity, but I believe not as to my honor and integrity." 



" It is the duty of every individal to act his part in whatever station his 
country may call him to in times of difficulty, danger, and distress." 

" I think that the individal who declines the service of his coiintry because 
its councils are not conformable to his ideas makes but a bad subject. A 
good one will follow if he cannot lead." 

"You may be sure I have my full share of trouble on this occasion; but 
having got my family and books removed to a place of safety, my mind is 
more at ease, and my time is now given up to the public, although I have 



—34 

many thousand pounds' worth of effects here, without any prospects of saving 
them." 

"Should time be lost in tedious negotiations and succours be withheld, 
America must sue for peace from her oppressors." 

" Our people knew not the hardships and calamities of war when they so 
boldly dared Britain to arms. Every man was then a bold patriot, felt him- 
self equal to the contest, and seemed to wish for an opportunity of evincing 
his prowess. But now when we are fairly engaged, when death and ruin 
stare us in the face, and when nothing but the most intrepid courage can rescue 
us from contempt and disgrace, sorry am I to say it, many of these who were 
foremost in noise shrink coward-like from the danger, and are begging pardon 
without striking a blow." 

" Nothing but the most arduous and virtuous conduct in the leaders, sec- 
onded by a spirited behaviour in the army, and a patient endurance of hard- 
ships by the people in general, can long support the contest." 

" No treason either has operated or can operate so great injur\- to Amer- 
ica as must follow from a loss of reputation." 

• ■ After serving my country in various public stations for upwards of four 
years, my routine in Congress was finished, and no sooner was I out than 
envious and malicious men began to attack my character. But my services 
were so universally known, and my integrity so clearly proved, I have, thank 
God, been able to look down with contempt on those that have endeavoured 
to injure me; and, what is more, I can face the world with that consciousness 
which rectitude of conftuct gives to those who pursue it invariably." 

'• The various scenes of distress and the extreme ditficulties which pre- 
sented themselves to my view at that time were sufficient to have deterred any 
man from the acceptance of such an appointment. But, however unequal to 
the station, the attempt was indispensable." 

" This appointment was unsought, unsolicited, and dangerous to accept, 
as it was evidently contrary to my private interests, and if accepted, must 
deprive me of those enjoyments, social and domestic, which my time of life 
required, and to which my circumstances entitled me ; and a vigorous execu- 
tion of the duties must inevitably expose me to the resentment of disappointed 
and designing men, and to the calumny and detraction of the en\-ious and 
malicious." 

•• A full conviction of the necessity that some pereon should commence 
the work of reformation in our public affairs, by an attempt to introduce sys- 
tem and economy, and the persuasions that a refusal on my part would prob- 
ably deter others from attempting this work, so absolutely necessary to the 
safety of our countn,-." 

•' Putting myself out of the question, the sole motive is the public good; 
and this motive. I confess, comes home to my feelings. The contest we are 
engaged in appeared to me, in the tirst instance, just and necessary ; therefore 
I took an active part in it. As it became dangerous, I thought it the more 
glorious, and was stimulated to the greatest exertions in my power when the 
affairs of America were at the worst." 

" I cannot on any consideration consent to Nnolate engagements or depart 
from those principles of honor which it is mj- pride to be governed by." 

" My necessary commercial connections, notwithstanding the decided 



—35— 

sense of Congress, expressed in their resolution of the 20th of March, might, 
if the business were transacted by myself, give rise to illiberal reflections, 
equally painful to me and injurious to the public. This reason alone would 
deserve great attention ; but further, I expect that my whole time, study, and 
attention will be necessarily devoted to the various business of my depart- 
ment." 

" If from any other cause I am forced to commit a breach of faith, or even 
to incur the appearance of it, from that moment my utility ceases." 

• ' In accepting the office bestowed on me, I sacrifice much of my interest, 
my ease, my domestic enjoyments and internal tranquility. If I know my 
own heart, I make these sacrifices with a disinterested view to the service of 
mvcountr5%" 

" I am ready to go still farther, and the United States may command 
everything I have except my integrity, and the loss of that would effectually 
disable me from serving them more." 

" I must again repeat my serious conviction that the least breach of faith 
must ruin us forever." 

" I am very confident, when they shall see exertions on the one hand and 
economy on the other, they will be willing to assist us all they consistently 

can." 

"Many who see the right road and approve it continue to follow the 
wrong road, because it leads to popularity. The love of popularity is our 
endemial disease, and can only be checked by a change of seasons." 

" For your reimbursement you may either take me as a public or a private 
man ; for I pledge myself to repay you with hard money wholly if required, 
or in part hard and part paper, if you so transact the business. In short, I 
promise, and you may rely that no consideration whatever shall induce me to 
make a promise that I do not see my capability to perform, that I will enable 
you to fulfill your engagements for this supply of flour." 

" The various requisitions of Congress to the several States, none of them 
entirely complied with, create a considerable balance in favor of the United 
States, and the claiming this balance is delivered over to me as revenue ; 
while on the other hand, the dangerous practice of taking articles for the pub- 
lic service, and giving certificates to the people, has created a very general 
and a very heavy debt. The amount of this debt is swelled beyond all rea- 
sonable bounds, nor can the extent of it be at present estimated. These 
things need no explanation, but it may be proper to observe that if the cer- 
tificates were not in my way, there is still an infinite difference between the 
demand of a balance from the States and an effectual revenue." 

" It gives me great pain to learn that there is a pernicious idea prevalent 
among some of the States that their accounts are not to be adjusted mth the 
continent. Such ideas cannot fail to spread listless languor over all our oper- 
ations. If once an opinion is admitted that those States who do the least and 
charge most will derive the greatest benefit and endure the smallest evils. 
Your Excellency must perceive that shameless inactivity must take the place 
of that noble emulation which ought to pervade and animate the whole 
Union." 

" It is by being 3ust to individuals, to each other, to the Union, to all ; by 
generous grants of solid revenue, and by adopting energetic methods to col- 



-j6- 

lect that revenue, and not by complaining, vauntings, or recriminations, that 
these States must expect to establish their independence, and rise into power, 
consequence, and grandeur. " 

" The faith of the United States is pledged to the public creditors. At 
every new loan it must be pledged anew, and an appeal is now made to the 
States individually to support the public faith so solemnly pledged. If they 
do, it is possible the public credit may be restored ; if not, our enemies will 
draw from thence strong arguments in favor of what they have so often as- 
serted — that we ai-e unworthy of confidence, that our Union is a rope of sand, 
that the people are weary of Congress, and that the respective States are de- 
termined to reject its authority." 

' ' A dangerous supineness pervades the continent ; and recommendations 
of Congress, capable in the year 1775 of arousing all America to action, now 
lie neglected." 

" The precedent of disobedience once established, our Union must soon 
be at an end, and the authority of Congfress reduced to a metaphysical idea." 

" Have anticipated the revenue and brought us to the brink of destruc- 
tion." 

' ' Whatever may be the fate of my administration, I will never be sub- 
jected to the reproach of falsehood or insincerity. The public opinion as to 
the conduct of other princes and states (besides France and Spain) has greatly 
injured us bv relaxing our exertions : but the opinion as to pecuniar\' aid has 
been still more pernicious. People have flattered themselves \\nth a visionarj* 
idea that nothing more was necessary than for Congress to send a Minister 
abroad, and that immediately he would obtain as much money as he chose to 
ask for." 

' ' Have the efforts to borrow in this countr\- been so successful as to 
ground any hope from abroad? Or is it to be supposed that foreigners will in- 
terest themselves more in our prosperit\^ and safety than our own citizens?" 

•' It is high time to relieve ourselves from the infamy we have already 
sustained, and to rescue and restore the national credit. This can only be 
done by solid revenue. Disdaining, therefore, these little timid artifices which, 
while they postpone the moment of difficulty, only increase the danger and 
confirm the ruin. I prefer the open declaration to all of what is to be expected, 
and from whence it is to be d^a\^-n." 

'' When I tell you that I am not much deceived in my expectations, you 
will readily form a proper conclusion as to the relaxed habits of administra- 
tion in this country." 

' ' To increase the means of pa^nnent by retrenching even.- other expendi- 
ture is my constant object. To increase the means of pa\Tnent by grants of 
money, the States alone are competent to." 

" We have reason to apprehend a continuance of that shameful negli- 
gence which has marked us to a proverb, while all Europe gazed in astonish- 
ment at the unparalleled boldness and vastness of our claims, blended with 
an unparalleled indolence and imbecility of conduct." 

"My family, being chiefly at Springe tsbun,-, affords me the opportunity 
of appropriating my house in town to your use. I believe we can accommo- 
date your aids, etc. , with mattresses, but our beds are chiefly in the country-, 
and as what I have cannot possibly be appropriated to a better use. I beg 



—37— 

Your Excellency will consider and use my house and what it affords as your 
own." 

" While I was in advance, not only my credit, but every shilling of my 
own money, and all which I could obtain from my friends, to support the im- 
portant expedition against Yorktown, much offence was taken that I did not 
minister relief to the officers taken prisoners at Charleston." 

• ' This country by relying too much on paper is in a condition of peculiar 
disorder and debility. To rescue and restore her is an object equal to my 
warmest wishes, though probably beyond the strength of my abilities. Suc- 
cess will greatly depend on the pecuniary- aid we may obtain from abroad, be- 
cause money is necessary to introduce economy, while at the same time econ- 
omy is necessary to obtain money." 

"By accepting the ofl&ce I now hold, I was obliged to neglect my own 
private affairs. I have made no speculations in consequence of my office, and 
instead of being enriched, I am poorer this day than I was a year ago." 

" I write sir, to apprise you of the public danger, and to tell you I shall 
endeavor to fulfil engagements which I have entered into already, that I may 
quit my station like an honest man ; but I will make no new engagements, so 
that the public service must necessarily stand still. What the consequences 
may be I know not ; but the fault is in the States. They have not complied 
with the requisitions of Congress ; they have not enabled me to go on ; they 
have not given me one shilling for the ser\-ice of the year 1782, excepting only 
the State of New Jersey, from which I received $5,500 a few days ago. and 
this is all that has come to my hands out of two millions which were asked for. 
Now, should the army disband, and should scenes of distress and horror be re- 
iterated and accumulated, I again repeat, that I am guiltless ; the fault is in 
the States. They have been deaf to the calls of Congress, to the clamors of 
the public creditor, to the just demands of a suffering army, and even to the 
reproaches of the enemy." 

" This language may appear extraordinary, but at a future day, when my 
transactions shall be laid bare to public view, it will be justified. This lan- 
guage may not consist with the ideas of dignity which some men entertain ; 
but, sir, dignity is in duty and in \nrtue, not in the sound of swelling expres- 
sions. I have borne with delays and disappointments as long as I could, and 
nothing but hard necessity would have wrung from me the sentiments which 
I now expressed." 

"I find the publications of ' No Receipts' are by no means very pleasing. 
Men are less ashamed to do wrong than vexed to be told of it." 

" The people are undoubtedly able to pay ; but they have easily persuaded 
themselves into a conviction of their own inability, and in a government like 
ours the belief creates the thing." 

" Our enemies hold up to contempt and derision the contrast between 
resolutions to carry on the war at every expense and the receipts of nothing 
in some States, and very little in all of them put together." 

' ' The experience of other countries could not satisfy America. We must 
have it of our own acquiring. We have at length bought it ; but the purchase 
has nearly been our ruin." 

' ' Let us apply to borrow wherever we may, our mouths will always be 
stopped by the one word ' security.' The States will not give revenue for the 



puq>ose. and the United States have nothing to give but a general National 
promise, of which their enemies loudly charge them w-ith the violation." 

"Would be very happy to apologize to the world for doing nothing, with 
the thin and diinsy pretext thai it has been asked to do too much. It is a 
vain thing to siappose that wars can be carried on by quibbles and puns ; and 
yet lapng tcxxes payable in specific articles amounts to no more, for with a 
great sound they put little or nothing in the treasur\-." 

"Imagine the situation of a man who is to direct the finances of a countr)- 
almost without revenue (for such you will perceive this to be), surrounded by 
creditors whose distresses, while they increase their clamour, render it more 
difficult to appease them ; an army ready to disband or mutiny ; a govern- 
ment whose sole authority consists in the power of framing recommendations. 
Surely it is not necessar\- to add any coloring to such a piece, and j'et truth 
would justify more than fancy could paint." 

"To increase our debts while the prospect of papng them diminishes, 
does not consist with my ideas of integrity. I must, therefore, quit a situation 
which become utterly unsupportable." 

" Nothing would have induced me to continue in office but a \-iew of the 
public distresses. These distresses are much greater than can easily be con- 
ceived. I am not ignorant that attempts are made to infuse the pernicious 
idea that foreign aid is easily attainable, and that of the monej-s; already ob- 
tained, a considerable part remains unappropriated." 

' ' The distresses we experience arise from our own misconduct. If the 
resources of this country were dra\\-n forth, they would be amply sufficient ; 
but this is not the case. Congress had not authority equal to the object, and 
their influence is greatly lessened by their e\ndent incapacity to do justice. 
Nothing should induce me in my public character to make such application 
for money as I am obliged to in my private character. If these notes are not 
satisfied when they become due. the little credit which remains to this country- 
mast fall, and the little authority dependent on it must fall too." 

" I might also appeal to the clamors against me for opposing claims I 
could not properly C(.^niply with. Long have I been the object of enmities de- 
rived from that origin. I ha\-e therefore the right to consider such clamours 
and such enmities as the confession and the e\-idence of my care and atten- 
tion." 

"If I had met with that support which, unmerited by my abilities, was 
due to mv zeal for the public ser\nce, I believe that I should have continued 
m office until, all accounts being settled and all debts provided for, I could 
have left to my successor the pleasing prospect of future wealth, unclouded by 
any dismal retrospect of past povert\-. But all other things out of the ques- 
tion, there is sach a disposition among men to traduce and vilify, that no 
prudent man will risk a fair reputation by holding an office so important as 
mine," 

" It becomes impossible to serve a people who convert ever>-thing into a 
ground for calumny." 

" We certainly ought to do more for ourselves before we ask the aid of 
others." 

"It gi\-es me great pleasure to reflect that the situation of public affairs is 
mor«' prospervxis than when that commission issued. The sovereignty and 



— Jp— 

independence of America are acknowledged. May they be firmh- established 
and effectually secured. This can only be done by a just and Nngorous gov- 
ernment. That these States, therefore, may be soon and long united under 
such a government is my ardent wish and constant prayer." 

" Will deal with me and tnist me ; not that I expect that they may like me 
better than now, but they have confidence in me, and for the sake of their 
own interests and convenience they will deal with me." 

"The State is charged in the treasury of the United States with the in- 
terest arising on the balances, being the excess of the cost of those supplies 
beyond the moneys received from the State. And this is done because that 
excess was partly supplied by the monej-s of the United States, and partly by 
the credit of their officer," 

' • An union of measures and views between the several States and the 
Union must prove beneficial to all and to every one of them." 

•• Congress have appointed Commissioners to examine the receipts and 
expenditures during my administration. This is a very proper measure, and 
oiight to have been adopted at the time I resigned. I am, however, ver%'glad 
it is now done, as by this means I shall have an opportunity of stopping the 
malicious and envious who are fond of insinuating suspicions which they dare 
not charge. But I shall get the better of all these sons of darkness in the end, 
and oblige them to acknowledge the services they trj- to traduce." 

• ' God has blessed me with a disposition of mind that enables me to sub- 
mit with patient resignation %o His dispensations as they regard myself." 

" I am daily undergoing the most mortifying and tormenting scenes that 
you can imagine." 

" I am, to be sure, disagreeably situated, but my affairs are retrievable, if 
I could get the common aid of common times, and I will struggle hard." 

" I would fain hope that he does not wish to take advantage of my neces- 
sities to obtain my property at less than its worth." 

" There is no bearing with these things. I believe I shall go mad. Ever^' 
day brings forward scenes and troubles almost insupportable, and they seem 
to be accumulating so that at last they %\'ill like a torrent carry ever\-thing 
before them. God help us, for men will not." 

'• Have patience, and I will pay thee all." 

"That painful distress of mind which has become my constant com- 
panion." 

" Good heavens, what vultures men are in regard to each other!" 

" Confidence has furled her banners." 

" I am a mart\T to the times." 

"Advertised, sold, sacrificed, and plundered." 

' • I am sensible that I have lost the confidence of the world as to my pecu- 
nian- abilities, but I believe not as to my honour or integrity." 

" I will tr}- to see you before I go to prison." 

" Starvation stares me in the face." 

" I have not money enough to buy bread for my family." 

•■ I feel like an intruder everj-where ; sleeping in other people's beds and 
sitting in other people's rooms. I am writing on other people's paper, with 
other people's ink, — the pen is my own; that and the clothes I wear are all I 
can claim as mine here. If my creditors were wise for their owm sakes, they 



40~ 

would not keep me idle here, when if I had my liberty, 1 might workeffieiently 
for their benefit." 

" I received your letter yesterday, by which I see the prison scene has 
made its impression on your mind. You must come every Sunday ; and it 
will grow so familiar that you will think little of it, so long as you keep out 
on week days." 

" The hotel with grated doors." 

" I have just heard of an estate of mine ■vyorth $100,000 being sold for $800 
to pay taxes. ' Such things are done.' " 

"For that furniture which was my own is selling by piece-meal, because 
I cannot raise money to save it." 

"If you should find it necessary to write again, be good enough to pay 
the postage of your letters, for I have not a cent to spare from means of sub- 
sistance." 



POSTSCRIPT. 



The people have responded. The Land Office is saved. The following 
extracts will, no doubt, speak for themselves : 

{Buffalo Commercial.') 

Saturday next, October 13th, will be a great day in our neighboring village 
of Batavia, Genesee county. May it be the brighrest and balmiest Indian 
summer day of the season. The occasion will be the formal dedication of 
that historical relic, the old office of the Holland Land Company, to the Hol- 
land Purchase Historical Society, and the memory of Robert Morris, the first, 
and one of the most famous, of our national financiers. Most fittingly, the 
dedicatory address will be delivered by Morris's successor of to-day, the Hon. 
John G. Carlisle, Secretary of the Treasury, and the occasion will be graced 
by the presence of other members of the Government, including Secretaries 
Gresham and Lamont, and Postmaster-General Bissell. 

The Holland Purchase Historical Society, of which Mrs. Dean Richmond 
is President, recently bought the ancient building, which is of stone, and in 
an excellent state of preservation ; the intention is to convert it into an his- 
toric museum, in which will be displayed and preserved the relics of pioneer 
days in Western New York. In this laudable work the Buffalo Historical 
Society will no doubt cheerfully lend a helping hand. 

The Land Office is the oldest structure in Western New York; it is much 
more than that, however, as the central historical landmark of this entire 
region. It was the radiating point for the development of the whole section, 
including the city of Buffalo and its neighborhood. It brings to mind the 
trials and achievements of the hardy pioneers, who pushed on through the un- 
brpken wilderness, to their allotted settlements, and in a few years made the 
desert blossom as the rose. A century ago business was brisk in that old 
Land Office, and Buffalo was unknown. The operations of the Holland Land 
Company, were on a large scale, and whatever questions may have arisen as 
to its methods, the one substantial fact remains that it was the direct agency 
of opening up Western New York to civilization. In a certain sense every 
city and town in this region is its monument, though nothing it once owned 
now remains to perpetuate its memory except tne quaint old building at Bata- 
via that was so long its headquarters. 

There are many thousands of the descendants of the pioneers who dealt 
with the Holland Land Company, and that large class will be especially inter- 
ested in the forthcoming celebration. There are those, too, who will look 
back to an earlier day, before the advent of the white man, when the beauti- 
ful valley of the Genesee, and all the surrounding country, was the home of a 
long vanished race. All such can well afford to adopt the thought expressed 
by David Gray in the loveliest poem he ever wrote — " The Last Indian Coun- 



-42— 

cil on the Genesee." It was written primarily of Glen Iris, but its application 
is much widei': 

When Indian Summer flings her cloak 

Of brooding azure on the woods, 
The pathos of a vanished folk 

Shall haunt thy solitudes. 
The blue smoke of their tires, once more. 

Far o'er t he hills shall seem to rise. 
And sunset's golden clouds restore 

The red man's paradise. 
***** 

Quenched is the fire ; the drifting smoke 

Has vanished in the autumn haze ; 
Gone too, O Vale, the simple folK 

Who loved thee in old days. 
But. for their sakes— their lives serene — 

Their loves, perohanee as sweet as ours— 
Oh, be thy woods for aye more green, 

And fairer bloom thy flowers! 

^Buffalo E.xpress.^ 

\Miile Buffalo has just let pass an anniversan- which might appropriately 
have been celebrated along with the installation of ordinance relics in Lafay- 
ette Park, her wideawake little neighbor. Batavia, has laid hold of an oppor. 
tunitv to win credit to the present by recalling the past, and has planned a 
celebration which already interests the country- at large, and which reflects the 
greatest credit on the citizens and public spirit of Bata\-ia. 

The occasion is the dedication of the old land oftice building of the Holland 
Purchase as a memorial to Robert Morris, '"the great patriot and financier 
of the Revolution and the first owner of the lands in Western New York." 
The dedication occurs next Saturday at Batavia. President Cleveland and 
several members of the Cabinet have accepted invitations to be present ; and 
the principal address of the day will be made by John G. Carlisle, the 31st 
Secretary of the United States Treasury, of which Robert Morris was the first 
Secret:uy. The celebration is also to include a parade, the installation of a 
memorial tablet and exercises m the park. Besides Secretar\- Carlisle's 
address a poem by John H. Yates and devotional participation by Bishop Ryan 
and Bishop Coxe are announced. The oldest clerg\Tnan on the Holland Pur- 
chase will also be in\nted to take a hand in the festi\-ities if he can be disco vered. 
For people who take the slightest interest in historical matters, this celebra- 
tion offers strong attractions. ^Ve trust that the Buffalo Historical Societ^- 
will be creditably representei.1. 

Odd as it mav seem, this humble little office building, now qo years old, 
is the first memori;U which citizens of America have seen fit to dedicate to the 
memorv of the first Secretar}- of the United States Treasiir}-, and the man 
who mined himself to save the credit of the United States during the Revo- 
Intion and enabled the Colonies to keep on fighting until they had won their 
cause. To the student of American hist on.-. Robert Morris's career is an ex- 
ceedingly interesting one. He was a rich Philadelphian when in 1775 he was 
elected to the Continental Congress. He signed the Declaration of Independ- 
ence and a year later, when Washington appealed to him for help in raising 



—43— 

money to pay the troops, he raised a loan, backing it with his personal notes, 
and handed over $50,000 in coin for the disheartened army. Other loans — 
largely negotiated in Holland — followed, and the campaign was prosecuted 
with new vigor. But for Robert Morris, the French alliance of 1777 probably 
never would have been formed. In 1 7S0 he was made Superintendent of 
Finance and invested with well-nigh absolute control of the Treasury and its 
phantom resources. Of the wonderful manipulations by which he made those 
resources amount to something, of his reorganization of the svstem of tax 
collection so that taxes were really collected, of his establishment of the Bank 
of America, and of all the de\nces by which he bolstered up the countrj^'s 
credit and kept the army supplied with the sinews of war, the interested reader 
may easily tind ample accounts, as well as of his downfall, his confinement in 
a debtors' prison, and his obscure and poverty-stricken last days. 

It was through his efforts to save his credit that Morris went into vast 
land speculations. Before he left the Government service he had tied up all 
of his once great fortune in large tracts in several States. The most valuable 
of these tracts embraced what are now the western counties of New York. 
When through lack of capital to enable him to await for the advancing settlers 
to create a profitable demand for his land, he was finally driven to the wall, 
his Holland creditors bought from him, through American residents, the tract 
since known as the Holland Purchase. 

{Rochester Herald.) 

Robert Morris was a great man, and the establishment of tnis land office 
at Bata\'ia was a gjeat factor in the development of Western New York, and 
the fact need not by any means be lost sight of in considering the virtues and 
useful career of the man, even if the connection is somewhat remote. 

Robert Morris deser\-es to be affectionately remembered by all Americans 
on account of the conspicuous part which he played in the Revolutionary- 
struggle. He was one of the few wealthy men who served in the Continental 
Congress. Xaturallj- a conservative, a native of England, and a merchant 
with large commercial connections with the mother country-, he voted in Con- 
gress against the Declaration of Independence, but finally affixed his name to 
the historic document. Curiously enough, the financial prosecution of the 
war fell upon this converted promoter of independence. As a member of the 
Ways and Means Committee, he was practically the financial minister of the 
government from the first and gave it the full benefit of his personal credit. 
In one year he raised $1,400,000 to assist Washington's army, and in February, 
1 780, he was put in complete charge of the Treasurj', with the title of Super- 
intendent of Finance. It was Morris who organized the Bank of North Amer- 
ica, b\- which expedient the funds were pro\-ided for carrying the war to a 
successful end. He was a member of the first United States Senate from 
Pennsylvania, and was offered the post of Secretary of the Treasury by Wash- 
ington, but declined in Hamilton's favor. It was a hard ending to so distin- 
guished a career that he should afterward have lost his private fortune, spent 
four years in a debtor's prison, and only had a home of his own to die in 
through the foresight of his wife. According to one biographer Mrs. Morris 
had an interest in the Holland Land Company bequeathed to her. and as a 



—44'- 

compensation for signing certain papers to which her signature was indispen- 
sable, she obtained a life annuity of $2,000. This appears to have been the 
sole support of the great financier and his wife from the time of his release 
fi-om prison in 1802 to his death, at the age of 72, in 1S06. 

It is seemingly well established, however, that Mrs. Morris' interests 
were derived from those of her husband, who speculated in Western New 
York lands before his failure. Perhaps she had not joined with him in some 
of the numerous deeds that must have passed, and was therefore in a posi- 
tion to enforce her dowei rights by securing the annuity mentioned. Mr. 
Morris began his land investments in this vicinity in 1790 by buying a part of 
the Phelps and Gorham purchase east of the Genesee, which he sold to 
English capitalists the next year at a handsome profit. The Holland pur- 
chase west of the Genesee was secured by him from the Indians, he having 
bought all rights of the State of Massachusetts in the tract. This he sold 
to Holland investors and the establishment of the Holland Land Company's 
office in the old stone building at Batavia followed. This building is now 
the property of the Holland Purchase Historical Association, which deserves 
great credit for preserving this valuable historical monument. Besides Sec- 
retary Carlisle, other members of the Cabinet will be present on Saturday, 
and the exercises will be in every way worthy of the occasion. 

{Progressive Baiavian.) 

Saturday of this week, Oct. 13th, will occur the great event in Batavia's 
history, the dedication of the Old Holland Land Company's office on West 
Main street to the memory of Robert Morris, America's first Superintendent 
of Finance. It is to be a national affair, as many members of President 
Cleveland's cabinet, with their wives, will be present, and Hon. John G. Car- 
lisle, Secretary of the Treasury, will be the orator of the day. 

The members of the cabinet expected are as follows : Hon. John G. 
Carlisle, Secretary of the Treasury; Hon. Walter O. Gresham, Secretary of 
State; Hon. Wilson S. Bissell, Postmaster-General; Hon. Richard Olney, 
Attorney-General ; Hon. Daniel S. Lamont, Secretary of War; Hon. Hilary 
A. Herbert, Secretary of the Nav> ; Hon. Hoke Smith, Secretary of the Inte- 
rior. Hon. R. A. Maxwell, Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General, will ac- 
company the party from Washington over the Lehigh Valley road, arriving 
in a special car in Batavia at 10 a. m. on Saturday. Carriages will convey 
the distinguished guests to the Hotel Richmond, and from there to a plat- 
form in front of the old land office, where they will review the parade. 

Other distinguished men are expected to be present from different parts 
of the country — -senators, judges, ministers, mayors, editors, etc. 

The parade will form on the State gifcunds at the Institution for the 
Blind, and move at 10 o'clock sharp. 

{Batavia Daily Nej^s.) 

The great day is at hand. 

Members of the Cabinet, with the ladies who accompany them, will arrive 
on the Lehigh Valley road at 10:05 3^- ™- ^i^d be escorted to the Richmond. 
From there the Cabinet officers and such of the ladies as desire to will be 



—45 — 

driven to the reviewing stand in front of the Land Office, where the tablet 
will be unveiled by Secretary Gresham and the Dedication prayer offered by 
Bishop Ryan. 

Luncheon will be served by Teall at the Richmond to all of the invited 
guests except the Cabinet ladies, who will be entertained at luncheon by Mrs. 
D. W. Tomlinson, the ladies going thence to the State park, where all of the 
Cabinet officers also will have seats on the speaker's stand. Exercises at 
the park will begin at 2 o'clock, opening with selections by the Sixty-fifth 
Regiment band. "To Thee, O Country," will be sung by the chorus of a 
hundred voices, and Bishop Coxe will offer prayer. The song of " Zion 
Awake," by the chorus, will be followed by the reading of the Dedication 
poem by John H. Yates, the author, after which the chorus will sing"0, 
Columbia, Columbia Beloved." Secretary Carlisle then will deliver his 
address, "America" will be sung by the chorus, and the closing prayer and 
benediction will be said by the Rev. Philos G. Cook of Buffalo, the oldest 
clergyman in active service on the Holland Purchase. 

Batavia today is more gayly decorated than ever before, and fresh dec- 
orations are going up all the time. Some displays are of particular beauty. 

The Washington party leaves for Batavia at 4:20 p. m. to-day. 

A dispatch from General Maxwell this afternoon says the party will con- 
sist of Secretary Gresham, Secretary Carlisle and Secretary Lament, with 
the ladies; Secretary Herbert and his daughter, Mrs. Micou, Secretary 
Smith. Postmaster-General Bissell and Mrs. Bissell will come from Buffalo. 
Attorney-General Olney is not coming. General Maxwell will come with the 
party from Washington. 

Washington, Oct. 12.— (Associated Press). — There will be a good dele- 
gation of distinguished officials from Washington in attendance at Batavia, 
N. Y., to-morrow on the occasion of the ceremonies in honor of Robeit 
Morris, the great financier of the early days of the Republic, The party will 
consist of Secretary and Mrs. Carlisle, Secretary and Mrs. Lamont, Secre- 
tary and Miss Herbert and Mrs. Micou, Secretary Smith and Fourth Assist- 
ant Postmaster General Maxwell. 

The Ladies' Auxiliary Reception committee met yesterday afternoon at 
the residence of the Chairman, Mrs. Adelaide R. Kenney. The purpose of 
the meeting was to make provisions for entertaining a large number of 
Buffalo ladies who are expected to be present and who will be invited to 
make the homes of the ladies their headquarters. The visitors will be ap- 
portioned among the following ladies: Mrs. Alice G. Fisher, Mrs. George 
W. Lay, Mrs. J. F. Hall, Mrs. W. D. Smith, Mrs. Richmond and Mrs. Kenney, 
Mrs. S. E. North, Mrs. H. S. Hutchins, Mrs. George Bovven, Mrs. F. G. 
Ferrin, Mrs. William C. Watson, Mrs. Duane Armstrong, and Mrs. Wilber 
Smith. 

The committee in a body will be present at the Hotel Richmond at 10 
o'clock to greet the invited guests. The Cabinet ladies will be entertained 
at lunch by Mrs. D. W. Tomlinson at her residence at 12:30 o'clock and will 
drive to the Park from there. Mrs. D. W. Tomlinson will be assisted by 
Mrs. Robert A. Maxwell, Mrs. Frank B. Redfield, Mrs. LeRoy Parker, and 
Mrs. Trumbull Cary. 



-46- 

The other invited guests will be entertained at lunch served by Teall at 
the Hotel Richmond. Mrs. George H. Holden, Mrs. H. S. Hutchins, Mrs. 
Hinman Holden. Mrs. S. E. North, Mrs. William C. Watson, Mrs. Joseph F. 
Hall and Mrs. G. S. Griswold will be the hostesses of this occasion. 

The Reception committee hope to be able to arrange for a reception by 
the ladies from Washington at the Richmond immediately after their return 
from the State park at the conclusion of the exercises to-morrow afternoon, 
to give the ladies of Batavia and elsewhere an opportunity to meet the dis- 
tinguished guests. 

The Grand Parade. 

The Marshal's General Order No. 2 gives information about the parade, 
which is expected to move at 10 o'clock. 

Headquarters Holland Land Office, '\ 

Dedication Day, > 

Batavia, Oct. 12, 1894. ) 

General Order No. 2 : 

I. — Headquarters for Dedication day will be at the corner of State street 
and Park avenue. 

2. — Assistant Marshal and Staff will report at headquarters mounted and 
uniformed at 8:30 a. m. 

3. — The headquarters of the Marshals of divisions will be as follows, viz: 
Mounted men, First and Fifth divisions at general headquarters ; the Second 
and Third divisions, corner of State and North streets ; the Fourth division 
at the corner of State street and Richmond avenue. 

4, — The divisions will form as follows : The mounted men on State 
street, right resting on Park avenue ; the First division on State street, right 
resting on the left of the mounted men ; the Second division on State street, 
right resting on the left of the First division ; the Third division on North 
street, right resting on State street ; the Fourth division on Richmond ave- 
nue, right resting on State street; the Fifth division on Park avenue, right 
resting on State street. 

5. — The several divisions will be composed of the following organiza- 
tions : 

Genesee County Mounted Men, 

W. L. Colville, Commander. 

THE FIRST division. 

G. W. Stanley, Assistant Marshal and Staff. 

Sixty-fifth Regiment Band and Drum Corps, 

National Guard, 

G. A. R. Posts, 

Continental Drum Corps, 

High School Cadets. 

Clerks from Erie County Clerk's Office, 

Indian Band, 

Indians. 



—41- 

SECOND DIVISION. 

Captain Timothy Lynch, Assistant Marshal and Staff, 

Select Knight's Band, 

C. M. B. A., C. B. L., A. O. H., 

Le Roy Total Abstinence Society, 

St. Alovsius Society, 

THIRD DIVISION. 

Frank Lewis, Assistant Marshal and Staff, 

Citizens' Band, 

Johnston Harvester Co., 

Wiard Plow Works, 

Ott & Fox, 

Batavia Wheel Co., 

Wood Working Co., 

Cope Brothers, 

L. Uebele. 

FOURTH DIVISION. 

C. H. Reynolds, Assistant Marshal and Staff, 

Le Roy Band, 

Le Roy Chemicals, 

Bergen Fire Department, 

I. O. O. F., 

A. O. U. W., 

Turners, 

School Children. 

FIFTH DIVISION. 

G. H. Wheeler, Assistant Marshal and Staff, 

Bergen Band, 

Pioneers in Carriages, 

Officers in Carriages. 

After passing in review the several divisions will proceed as follows and 
be dismissed : 

Mounted men to and down Washington avenue ; the First and Second 
divisions to and down Park avenue ; the Third division to Richmond avenue 
and turn to the left ; the Fourth and Fifth divisions to and down Richmond 
avenue to the right. 

By Command of 

J. A. Le SEUR, 
L. L. Crosby, Marshal. 

Adjutant. 



-48- 

{Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.) 

The season's sunset had cast its beams abroad, and painted with rich and 
ruddy tints the woodland and orchards of Batavia. Round about that historic 
and quiet hamlet of the mesa lands of New York, the waning season, with 
seeming prodigality of pigment, had touched the foliage with gold and blue 
and purple, amber and red. 

The surpassing decorations of the fair village, upon the grandest historic 
occasion of her existence, were the garlands that nature wove in crimson, 
brown, and green. The wooded land in its blaze of glorious coloring was 
nature's tribute to the festive day. 

Here upon this broad mesa land, with its returning auti:mnal coloring and 

spring blossoms, in the days when the century and country were young 

together and danced to the merry rythm of June breezes and the beating of 

time to the sturdy pioneers axe; here, upon this broad plateau extending from 

the placid Genesee on the east to the line of the great lakes upon the west, 

what more worthy place could have been chosen by the far-seeing old Holland 

company and its representative than this very spot within the environs of 
what is now Batavia. 

Ave, shades of Hendrick \'ollenhoven and Pieter Van Enghen, what far 
seeing old fellows those few Hollanders were who more than a century ago 
could look forward with confidence to the time when the chipmunk, hiding 
behind the flushing leaves of the beech tree, stuffing his chops with the nuts 
which went to makeup his winter's store, to the chirping encouragement of 
the cat bird, would scurrj- away to thicker woods before the keen blade of the 
woodman ; and the plateau would bend its fields of golden tasseled corn and 
ripened grain to the sighing lake winds ! 

What a financier and prophet, too, indeed, was Robert Morris when he 
shouldered this burden willingly 1 What a far sighted genius, too, was Joseph 
Ellicott ! 

That their confidence was not misplaced they all lived to know. Round 
the newly established land office a village grew to fine proportions; the village 
which yesterday bedecked herself in honor of the Holland Land Oliice and 
Robert Morris, an occasion which many of the nation's leading citizens took 
delight in honoring. 

The night of Friday saw Batavia in bright array. Flags were flying, 
streamers floating upon the air, and gav-colored bunting fluttering in the night 
wind. The stores, the shops, the churches, the land office itself, the old stone 
court house, the houses and the buildings and the stands at the State Park 
were all one blaze of red, white, and blue. 

The preparations tor the greatest event in her history, the event which 
was to honor her with the presence of the cabinet officers, the occasion of the 
dedication of the Holland Land Otfice to the memory of Robert Morris, had 
all been made, and the village wore her smile of welcome. 

^Rochester I'nion amt Advertiser.) 

If a former resident of Batavia should drop into town to-day he would not 
recognize the place, so changed it is in appearance during the past forty-eight 
hours. The town is taking a day off and is decked in holiday attire. And 
the streets look very pretty in their robings of red and white and blue. 



—49 
{Col. Sherman D. Richardson.) 

I stand beside the landmark old, 

As bright the setting: sun 
Turns Tonawanda's tide to gold, 

As if from diamonds spun. 
With magic tints of autumn dyes 

The shrub-decked lawn is dressed; 
A holy calm on nature lies 

Like heaven's eternal rest. 




REARED ON THE BANKS (>K TON-A-WAN-DA'S SIREAM. 

The iTy climbing to the eves ; 

The tree tops towering high : 
A canopy of shimmering leaves ; 

With patchwork of the sky. 
The mossy roof, the gables gray. 

The river winding by ; 
The azure hilltops leagues away ; 

The clouds that on them lie. 



The buried years come floating by 

Like phantom-haunted dreams ; 
Each vision that is hovering nigh 

With sacred memory teems. 
The resurrected long ago 

Commingles with the new; 
The future throws its living glow 

On each dissolving view. 



—so- 

I see a forest wild inlaid 

With trails by nature's art ; 
I watch beneath the gloomy shade 

The feathered headdress dart. 
The wild beast and the wilder man 

Speed by in eager chase, 
Before that culture's evil ban 

Was placed on tint of face. 

Here comes the hardy pioneer 

From o'er the ocean wide. 
To plant beside the waters clear 

A home by liings denied. 
The manhood of a royal line, 

The founders of a race, 
That fashioned out a grand design 

That years cannot efface. 

I see the structure rude of wood. 

Transformed to lasting stone; 
1 see the fields where forests stood 

With grain of plenty sown. 
And as the shepherds once the star 

Pursued with eager feet. 
So pilgrims Journeying from afar. 

Now at this Mecca meet. 

A change comes o'er the hallowed scene, 

As shifts the mimic stage, 
A teeming town and fields of green 

Reveal the present age. 
The background and the frame are new 

Long may their beauties last ; 
But grander is this relic true 

From out the sacred past. 

Each stone, to me, is richer than 

If formed from polished gold ; 
It's outline framed from ancient plan. 

Than if from n.iodern mould. 
It tells a story of the past. 

And links the old and new 
With possibilities so vast 

In time's sublime review. 

Well may the nation gather round 

To dedicate thy walls 
With poets' lore and words profound 

From out the college halls. 
Their incense cannot hs too great. 

Their precious gifts too grand. 
Upon this altar true of state 

Set up in freedom's land. 

{Batavta Daily News.) 

Never was any prearranged and anticipated event in Batavia given such 
prominence as the dedication to-day of the old land office of the Holland 
capitalists who with their surplus funds little more than a hundred years ago 
purchased the bulk of the 3,800,000 acres of land in Western New York 
known and described as the Holland Purchase. The preservation of the 



Land Office, with the object of devoting it to the purposes of an historic 
museum, has been agitated for several years in the News and other papers, 
axKd the hope has been expressed that the landmark would not be permitted 
to fall into decay and, crumbling to pieces, be eternally ruined. After the 
demolition of the arsenal on West Main street, which, though not erected 
until after the War of 1812, had a cloud of antiquity and a mist of patriotism 
overhanging it, the Land Office was revered more and more as the years 
went by until finally the sentiment that it should be saved in memory of the 
past became so well grounded that plans for its preservation were consum- 
mated. 

On November 15, 1890, the lYews in its Past and Present column printed 
the following, the speaker quoted being Andrew T. Miller, teller of the 
Bank of Batavia: 

" One thing that ought to be agitated in Batavia until it takes form and 
gives promise of consummation is the matter of the preservation of the old 
Land Office," said a level-headed young business man. "It's a shame to 
have that old building, about the only landmark Batavia has, go the way of 
all the earth. It should be purchased by an historical society, which should 
be formed here, and be restored as far as possible to its ancient form. I 
have taken pains to learn from the records who owns it and I think it could 
be bought and put into shape for not more than $2,000. I'd like to hear from 
the readers of the Neius on the subject." 

In the middle of July, 1893, were taken the first steps that led to the 
celebration of to-day. On the i8th of that month the News contained an 
item in which it was said: 

A movement that undoubtedly will result in the preservation of the old 
office in Batavia of the Holland Land company has been inaugurated. 
William C. Watson, who has interested himself in it, has secured an option 
on the property for $1,850, and concerted action will be taken soon to organ 
ize an historical society, to buy the old landmark and hold it. 

On August 1st, following a meeting in the furtherance of the undertaking 
that now has been practically perfected was held in the office of the Board 
of Education and a committee was appointed to consider the feasibility of 
the plan. On September i8th the committee reported in favor of purchas- 
ing the Land Office and soliciting subscriptions in amounts ranging from $1 
to Sio, such limits being fixed in order that the movement might be a popu- 
lar one. Considerable money was raised in the ensuing two months, and on 
November nth a deed was filed conveying the property to Daniel W. Tom- 
linson as trustee, $850 having been paid in cash on the purchase and a mort- 
gage for X.h.i balance having been recorded on the same day. About three 
months later, on February 5, 1894, the Holland Purchase Historical Society 
was organized and on March 17th the Land Office was transferred to that 
association, whose officers are as follows: 

President — Mrs. Mary E. Richmond. 
Vice President— William C. Watson. 
Corresponding Secretary — Arthur E. Clark. 
Eecording Secretary and Librarian— H. P. Woodward. 
Treasurer — L. C. Mclntyre. 



—52 

BOARD OF MANAGERS. 

Mrs. Adelaide R. Keiiney, 
John Kennedy, G. D. Weaver, 

Gad B. Worthington, F. B. Redfleld, 

George Bowen, John H. Ward, 

J. J. Washburn, D. W. Tomlinson. 

A committee of arrangements for the dedication of the building was 
appointed on July i8, 1894, and on August 3d numerous other committees 
were named. The Hon. Robert A. Maxwell of Batavia, Fourth Assistant 
Postmaster-General, had from the outset manifested a lively interest in the 
project, and, soon after the organization of the Historical society, began to 
interest his friends in the Cabinet in the matter of the forthcoming dedica- 
tion, with the idea of securing their attendance. Therefore, when Judge 
Safford E. North, representing the society, visited Washington on August 23d 
to see Sec.etary Carlisle, who had virtually promised to deliver the address, 
and have a date fixed for the dedication, he found the way made easy for 
him. Secretary Carlisle, however, had concluded then that it would be im- 
possible for him to come, as he was deeply engaged in Tariff matters and 
apprehended that it was desired to have the dedication soon, but when he 
learned that it was preferred to have the date fixed for some time ahead he 
consented to be present and to speak, naming the day. Judge North, in 
company with General Maxwell, visited other Cabinet officers, several of 
whom promised to accompany Secretary Carlisle. Arrangements for the 
dedication were then perfected as speedily as possible. 

Those who first proposed the preservation and enlisted in the movement 
resulting in the dedication to-day had in mind an unostentatious transfer of 
the Land Office property to a society organized to hold and maintain it. The 
old structure was considered to have an historic value as the office where 
sales of land to the early settlers were consummated. It was the' office 
whence deeds of the pioneers' lands were issued and where the original pur- 
chasers from the Holland speculators paid their money for their possessions ; 
and these facts attached to it an interest that seemed sufficient to warrant 
it being held in veneration. Professor John Kennedy, Superintendent of 
Schools in Batavia, became engrossed in the subject, however, and in a 
number of admirably written articles, the first appearing in the News of July 
20, 1893, connected Robert Morris of Revolutionary fame with the old office, 
through his sale to the Hollanders of the greater part of the territory west of 
the Genesee river. These articles attracted considerable attention, and 
when the Land Office finally was secured by the Historical society Professor 
Kennedy's suggestion that it be dedicated to the memory of Robert Morris 
and made a National affair, by reason of its consecration to his memory 
being a tribute to the first financial officer of the Federal Government, was 
in its main parts favorably acted upon. 

The demonstration of to-day is the result. Through the efforts of and 
friendship for General Maxwell, whose home is in Batavia, members of the 
Cabinet of the President of the Lmited States take part in the ceremonies, 
the Secretary of the Treasury delivering the address of the day. Other dis- 
tinguished men in various walks of life also are present and an affair that 
promised to be simple in its character has become one of uncommon import- 



53— 

ance, g-iviiig- Batavia a distinction that few towns in the United States ever 
enjoyed. Rarely indeed have so many heads of the great departments of 
the general Government been assembled together in a town outside of the 
National Capital, and rarely have so many other men, eminent in public 
affairs and in ecclesiastical circles, met on the same day to participate more 
or less conspicuously in the same event. 

Batavia extends a cordial welcome to all these guests and to the thous- 
ands of spectators who are within its gates. Batavia is proud of their pres- 
ence and hopes that the impression they may gain of this village, long 
established but filled with the enterprise and enthusiasm of youth, may be 
to its credit. Genesee county, the mother of counties, also acknowledges 
the honor that is inseparable from the advent within her boundaries of so 
many men of reputation and so many of those who occupy the lands that 
Morris sold. 

{Buffalo Express.) 

Yestesday's dediaation of the Holland Land Office to the memory of 
Robert Morris was a National affair. While the great financier whose latter 
days were clouded with embarrassments and saddened by imprisonment for 
debt had not much to do with the settlement of Western New York, yet, had 
the efficient committee which planned and so admirably carried out the cele 
bration stopped at lesser lines the ceremonies would have been local, and 
Western New York would not have been linked with the history of the Nation 
in so marked a manner. 

It was no small undertaking which Batavia's people so successfully car- 
ried out yesterday. Planned on broad lines and e.xecuted without a hitch, 
the people of Genesee's county-seat have every reason to feel proud of what 
they accomplished. The presence of members of the Cabinet lent the affair 
National importance in addition to its historical interest. And among some 
of the invited guests were lineal descendants of the great Morris. 

[Batavia Spirit of the Times.) 

Next Saturday, October 13, the people of Batavia will dedicate the old 
Holland Land Office in this village as a historical relic, it having been pur- 
chased by the Holland Purchase Historical Association, which has made 
provision for its preservation to future generations. They will be assisted by 
distinguished citizens from other places, and the celebration will include a 
very elaborate and entertaining programme. 

The principal address of the occasion will be delivered by the Hon. John 
G. Carlisle, Secretary of the Treasury. Other Cabinet members who are to 
be present are Postmaster-General Bissell and Secretary of War Lamont. 
Others are expected. 

The programme includes an extensive pageant that will illustrate Amer- 
ican history and modern progress. A great choir of several hundred voices 
will sing at the dedication ceremonies. The railroads offer special rates and 
ample provision has been made for a large number of visitors. The prepar- 
ations for the celebration have been going on for months. 

On the Sunday evening preceding the Fourth of July, 1893, the Rev. C. 
A. Johnson, pastor of the First Baptist church, conceived the idea of holding 



—54— 

a patriotic Union service in his church. A meeting was held to take steps in 
the matter and among those present was Mr. Kennedy. The speakers were 
unanimously in favor of teaching the rising generation the lesson of patriot- 
ism. Mr. Kennedy upon being called upon to speak, among other things 
said that the material landmarks of a Nation's history were of the utmost 
importance, as they served to awaken vividly the memories of bygone strug- 
gles and to stir and call out the sentiment of patriotism. He cited as instances 
the residence of Washington at Mt. Vernoon, Old Faneuil Hall, the " Cradle 
of Liberty," and the headquarters of Washington at Newburgh and Tappan. 
Those structures were fortunately secured from private ownership and placed 
under public protection to be preserved through long years as reminders of 
the revolutionary struggles. While no one could appreciate those buildings 
and their associations more than he did himself, yet there was a structure in 
Batavia, here in our very home, neglected and overlooked and idly passed 
by, that stirred him even more profoundly than the structures already alluded 
to — the old Holland Land Office. Continuing on that subject he so impressed 
his audience with the grandeur of the old building that an interest was 
awakened that has grown slowly but surely and at last has resulted in accom- 
plishing his object, the saving and restoring of the old building. Mr. 
Kennedy did not let the matter drop at that point, however, but throughout 
the year contributed many articles to the newspapers bearing on the subject ; 
keeping the matter constantly before the public mind until his arguments 
took efftct. Great credit is due him for the energetic way in which he has 
pushed t'.ie work through to a successful ending. 

The first sign of interest shown by the public in the saving and restora- 
tion of the Holland Land Office was when Upton Post, G. A. R., of Batavia, 
on the evening of Friday, July 28, 1893, held a special meeting for the pur- 
pose of taking action and starting a movement for the preservation of this 
relic of the Revolution and bygone years. The meeting resulted in the 
members of that body resolving that an attempt should be made to obtain 
possession of the structure and if this could be done it could be put in repair 
and a Historical Society formed to take possession of it. This was the first 
practical step taken, the result of which has terminated so successfully. 

On the evening of Tuesday, August i, 1893, a fair-sized gathering of 
Batavia's representative citizens assembled at the rooms of the Board of 
Education in the Walker Block to take further action. Daniel W. Tomlin- 
son, President of the Bank of Batavia, stated the object of the meeting and 
called for suggestions. William C. Watson who had shown great interest in 
the project was called upon and stated that the property in question was 
owned by R. R. Lawrence. Two years ago, he said, the property had been 
offered for sale for Si, 800; $400 of that sum had been pledged, but the owner 
having become aware that an attempt was being made to secure the property, 
raised his price to §2,000 and the scheme dropped through. On motion of Dr. 
J. W. Le Seur a committee was appointed consisting of W. C. Watson, D. 
W. Tomlinson, J. H. Ward, John Kennedy, and C. A. Hull to formulate a 
plan of action and devise means to secure the building. The matter drifted 
on for over a month, but at last, on the afternoon of September 18, the com- 
mittee met at Lawyer Watson's office and after considerable discussion it 
was decided to raise the sum necessary by popular subscription, making the 



—55— 

tninimum amount $i and the maximum $io. Preparations were made to cir- 
culate the subscription papers. While this was being done an option was 
secured on the property for §1,850, the option to expire October 20, 1893. 
The plan of the citizen's committee was to raise the $850, paying that down 
and giving a mortgage for the balance. The members having charge of the 
subscription papers pushed matters vigorously, but up to within a week of 
the expiration of the option only $500 of the S850 had been secured. The 
balance, however, was secured, and on the morning of November 13, 1893, a 
deed was filed in the County Clerk's office conveying to Daniel W. Tomlin- 
son the Land Office property, the consideration being §1,850. A mortgage 
of §1,000 was executed and the balance paid in cash. From that time on the 
subscriptions have been constantly flowing in, as each one makes the donor 
a charter member of the Holland Purchase Historical Society. 

A meeting was held on Friday, January 12, 1S94, to discuss the details 
preparatory to drawing up articles of association, constitution and by-laws. 
A draft of a constitution and by-laws was made, and an adjournment taken 
until Tuesday of the following week. On that day the committee met but 
transacted no business beyond deciding to appoint Mrs. Dean Richmond 
President of the Society. On Tuesday evening, February 6th, a meeting was 
held and incorporation papers were prepared to be sent to Albany. The 
society it was decided should be known as the Holland Purchase Historical 
Society. Officers were elected as follows: President, Mrs. Dean Richmond; 
Vice-President, William C. Watson; Recording Secretary, Herbert P. Wood- 
ward; Corresponding Secretary and Librarian, Arthur E. Clark; Treasurer, 
Levant C. Mclntyre; Managers, Gad B. Worthington, the Hon. George 
Bowen, Frank B. Redfield, John Kennedy, Mrs. Adelaide R. Kenney, John 
H. Ward, Daniel W. Tomlinson, Julian J. Washburn, and George D. Weaver. 

Mrs. Richmond accepted the Presidency upon condition that she should 
not be called upon to discharge any of the duties of the office. The Hon. R. 
A. Maxwell was requested to persuade Secretary Carlisle to dedicate the 
building at some future time. He promised to use his influence in that direc. 
tion. A few weeks later Mrs. Richmond received a letter from the Secretary 
stating that he would be pleased to dedicate the building. 

About July 17th, Vice-President Watson named a general committee to 
make arrangements and prepare a programme for the dedication. The 
committee is as follows: Dr. J. W. Le Seur, chairman; Hon. Safford E. 
North. Frank S. Wood, Daniel W. Tomlinson, Hinman Holden, Dr. H. J. 
Burkhardt, Louis B. Lane. J. J. Patterson, E. A. Washburn, A. W. Caney, 
John H. Yates, John H. Ward, Frank B. Redfield, F. A. Lewis, John Mc- 
Kenzie, A. W. Skelley, Fredd H. Dunham, C. A. Snell, D. D. Lent, C R. 
Winslow, A. E. Clark, R. S. Lewis, W. E. Webster, Dr. Ward B. Whit- 
comb, G. S. Griswold, J. A. Le Seur, John M. Hamilton, A. J. McWain, 
William C. Watson, J. H. Bradish, J. F. Hall, B. R. Wood, J. C. Barnes, 
Nelson Bogue, W. D. Sanford, H. T. Miller. C. W. Hough, D. Armstrong, 
Dr. C. L. Baker, F. E. Richardson, A. D. Scatcherd, M. H. Peck, Jr.. C 
Pratt, E A. Dodgson, Delos Dodgson, C. H. Dolbeer, Rev. J. H. Durkee, 
S. Masse, Rev. Thomas P. Brougham, Arthur Ferris, Rev. C. A. Johnson, 
Carlos A. Hull, John Dellinger, S. A. Sherwin, W. T. Eagar, H. O. Bost- 
wick, John Glade and J. W. Holmes. The General Committee appointed 



-56- 

the following- sub-committees: Committee on Ways and Means, Committee 
on Reception, Ladies" Auxilliary Reception Committee, Programme Com- 
mittee, Printing Committee, Press Committee, Railroad Committee, Com- 
mittee on Invitations, Committee on Decorations, Committee on Music and 
Committee on Flowers. Upon these committees has devolved the work of 
bringing order out of chaos and making the dedication possible. 



{Hujfa/o Evenrng Tinus.) 

In the latter part of July, 1S93, Prof. Kennedy's work began to bear fruit 
Members of Upton Post, G. A. R. , held a special meeting to devise means 
whereby the old land office could be preserved to future generations. It was 
the sentiment of those present that a Historical Society should be formed and 
that the building should be purchased of its owner, R. R. Lawrence. 

On November 13th, 1S93, the sum of SS50 was paid to Mr. Lawrence, and 
the property, subject to mortgage, was turned over to D. W. Tomlinson, who 
was selected to act as trustee for the Association which had been determined 
upon but had not yet been organized. Less than two weeks later a meeting 
was held to discuss details and draw up articles of association. A constitu- 
tion and by-laws were drafted and then those present adjourned for a week. 
When they met again the following officei's were elected : President, Mrs, 
Dean Richmond; Vice-President, William C. Watson; Recording Secretary; 
Herbert P. Woodward; Corresponding Secretary and Librarian, Arthur E, 
Clark ; Treasurer, Levant C. Mclntyre ; Managers, Gad B. Worthington, the 
Hon. George Bowen, Frank B. Redtield, John Kennedy, Mrs. Adelaide R. 
Kenney, John H. Ward, Daniel W. Tomlinson, Julian J. Washburn, and 
George D. Weaver. Mrs. Richmond agreed to accept the place of honor pro- 
vided she" was excused from active participation in the duties of the office. 
Her request was granted and the burden fell on the shoulders of Mr. Watson. 
How well he has discharged the onerous duties is shown by the success which 
attends to-day's celebration. 

{Baiav/a Spirit of t he Times.) 

To the Hon. R. A. Maxwell, Fourth Assistant Postmaster-General, who 
is an honored resident of this town, Batavia has good cause to extend her 
thanks, as it may be said that it was through his courtesy and eflforts that the 
attendance of the distinguished visitors, who will be present at the dedication. 
was obtained. Although Mr. Maxwell is a ver\- busy man, he has still found 
time from his duties to lend a little assistance to his town, and what he has 
done is greatly appreciated. The assistance which he rendered the Hon. 
Safford E. North, who went to Washington in the interests of the general 
committee of the Holland Land Office, was invaluable. Mr. Maxwell left his 
work at that time and conducted him to the different offices of the members of 
the Cabinet ; exerting his influence wherever needed cheerfully and gladly. 
The citizens of Bata\na extend to the General their sincere thanks. 



-57— 

{Rochester Demoerat and Chronicle.') 
A Patriot Honored. Batavia dedicates the first memorial to Robert 
Morris, Financier of the Revolution. The Holland Land Office becomes a 
national monument. A memorable celebration. Historical address by Sec- 
retary of the Treasury Carlisle. Other members of the President's Cabinet in 
attendance with their families. A great array of distmguished visitors. Im- 
posing parade. The affair was a success in every particular. 

{Rochester I'nton and Advertiser.^ 

In memory of Robert Morris. Dedication of the Old Holland Land Office. 
The greatest day Batavia has seen. Address of Secretary Carlisle. Members 
of the Cabinet present. Robert Morris' acts in the Revolutionary war re- 
warded. At noon Secretary Carlisle unveiled the tablet amid great cheers. 
The parade. Reception of the Cabinet members. 

{Buffalo Courier.^ 

Batavia' s day. Robert Morris honored. Streets thronged with twenty 
thousand people. An interesting parade. Rain drenched the procession, but 
did not deter it from carrying out the programme mapped out for it. Hosts 
of distinguished visitors from far and near. Secretary Carlisle's masterly ora- 
tion. The celebration was decidedly a success and the Land Office was form- 
ally dedicated. Many Buffalonians present at the ceremonies. 

{New York Sun.) 

Tribute to Robert Morris. Dedication of the Old Holland Land Office in 
Batavia. Secretary Carlisle recalls the history of the man to whom he said, 
the people were indebted more than to any other man in civil station for the 
successful termination of the Revolutionary war. All that he had he conse- 
crated to his country and never hesitated to use his personal credit to promote 
success. 

{Bataz'ia Daily News.) « 

In memorj- of Morris. Impressive dedication of the Old Office in Batavia 
of the Holland Land Company. Honor to the Financier. First tribute in 
America to the earliest Secretary of the Treasury. His successor orator of the 
day. Address delivered in the State Park by the Hon. John Griffin Carlisle. 
Six Cabinet members in town. Other prominent men attracted here by the 
ceremonies of the occasion. This is a day unparalleled. Streets filled with 
people and buildings gay with flags and bunting. 

(Rochester Post-Express.) 

This is a notable day for Batavia. Never was such a gathering seen in 
the village before. Never was the place so gaily decorated and never before 
was seen in its streets such a parade. As everybody knows the occasion was 
the dedication of the Holland Purcliase Land Office. Business is suspended 
and all Genesee and neighboring counties are witnessing the interesting cele" 
bration. All the members of President Cleveland's cabinet are here except 
Secretarv Morton. 



'rlie great feature of the morning was the parade which was the largest 
and most imposing ever held in tienesee county. Every interest, educational, 
industrial, religious and civic was represented in the line. The various organ- 
izations were loudly cheered. In front of the Land Oflfice the parade was 
reviewed by the officers of the day and distinguished guests. The tablet 
erected to the memory of Robert Morris was here unveiled and a prayer of 
dedication delivered by Rt. Rev. Bishop Stephen Vincent Ryan, of Butfalo. 
The order of parade as follows : 

Advanced guard of mounted men under command of \V. L. Colville ; aids, 

George Douglass, L. A. Terry and M. S- Dunlap. 

Marshal and Staff. 

Marshal, James A. Le Seur; chief of staff, I. D. Southworth ; adjutant. L. L. 

Crosby; orderlies, J. F. Read and Burt Williams; marshal's staff, C. 

S. Pugsley. A. D. Lawrence, Collis Samis, Asher Davis, 

Harry Ames, Frank Harris, Will Torrance, Roy 

Barringer, George Parish, Frank and Will Lusk. 

First division — G. W. Stanley, assistant marshal. Aids W. W. Plato, 
Dwight Duiiock. and Walter Chaddock. 

Sixty-fifth Regiment Band and Drum Corps, 

National Guard, 

G. A. R. Posts, 

Sons of Veterans, 

Continental Drum Corps, 

High School Cadets. 

Clerks from Erie County Clerk's Oftice, 

Indian Band, 

Indians. 

Second division— Captain Timothy Lynch, assistant marshal. Aids, 
James McMannis, John Leonard, William Burnes and P. Buckley. 

Select Knight's Band, 

C. M. B. A. 

C. B. L. 

A. O. H. 

Le Roy Total Abstinence Society, 

St. Alovsius Society, 

Third division— F. Lewis, assistant marshal. Aids. Ira Howe, William 
H. Walker and 1. \V. White. 

Citizens' Band, 

Johnston Harvester Company, 

Wiard Plow Works. 

Ott & Fox. 

Batavia Wheel Works, 

Wood Working Company, 

Cope Brothers, 

L. Uebele. 



-sp- 

Pourth division— C. H. Reynolds, assistant marshal. Aids, Wolcott Vail 
DeBogart, C. B. Avery. Ed. Moulthrop. 

Le Roy Band, 

Le Roy Chemicals, 

Bergen Fire Department, 

I. O. O. F., 

A. O. U. W., 

Turners, 

School Children. 

Fifth division— G. A. Wheeler, assistant marshal. Aids, R. I. Page, Lewis 
Johnston, George Constable. 

Bergen Band, 
Pioneers in Carriages, 
Officers in Carriages. 

The school boys made a splendid impression, their drilling being really 
excellent. They received great applause all along the line. The only Roch- 
ester organization in line was the Eighth Separate company, Captain H. B. 
Henderson commanding. They had 50 men in line and made a very credit- 
able appearance. 

Many of the displays in the industrial part of the parade were splendidly 
decorated floats illustrative of the growth of Batavia and its commercial im- 
portance. The Johnston Harvester company had an immense display, one 
covering over a quarter of a mile. 

The exercises at the park of the State Institution for the Blind this after- 
noon were impressive and interesting. Following is the programme : 

Selections - 

By the Sixty-flfth Regiment Band. 

Music— To Thee, O Country John Eichburg 

Chorus. 

Prayer. - 

' By Rt. Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of Western New York. 

Music— Zion, Awake - Costa 

Chorus. 

Dedication Poem. John H. Yates 

Read by the Author. 

Music — O Columbia, Columbia Beloved, Donizetti 

From Lucretia Borgia. 
Chorus. 

Address Hon. John G. Carlisle 

Music — America - 

Chorus. 

Closing praver and benediction by Rev. Philos G. Cook, the oldest 
clergyman on the Holland Purchase. 



-do 

(^Buffalo Courier.) 

Batavia was filled with people j^esterday as it had not been even on circus, 
election, or general training day since the corner-stone of the old Holland Land 
Company's building was placed. The people came from all directions, save 
from above and below, and they came in all manner of conveyances known to 
Genesee county. They came on the first trains in the morning and on the last 
trains m the afternoon ; they came on foot, on horseback, in old-fashioned 
high-box buggies, in lumber wagons, in two-wheeled carts drawn by seven- 
foot steers, in hand-wagons, and in every sort of conveyance that could be 
pressed into service. And in spite of the rain they continued to come till the 
busy little town was busier even than was the revered Robert Morris when he 
was trying to lift thirteen bankrupt colonies, burdened by a war with the 
richest nation on earth, from depths beside which the Slough of Despond was 
but a mud puddle. 

{Buffalo Evening Thnes.) 

In years to come when the question is asked, "What was the greatest day 
in the whole of Batavia's history?" the answer, without hesitation and with 
truth, will be, "October 13, 1S94." 

If the interrogator has his curiosity aroused to a sufficient degree by this 
prompt reply to still further pursue the subject and inquire why the date above 
all others marked an epoch in the life oi." the village, he will be told that it 
was the day on which the office of th^ .lolland Land Company was dedicated 
to the memory of that distinguished patriot, Robert Morris. 

Should the stranger be a guest, his hospitable host will suggest that they 
visit the spot where the historic structure stands. If, as they walk along the 
busy streets, for by this time Batavia will have attained to the dignity of city- 
hood, the resident falls into a gentle reverie as a fiood of recollections sweeps 

over his memory, surely he may be pardoned for his momentary lapse of 
courtesy. 

***** 

He will tell how the Secretary of the Treasury, John G. Carlisle of Ken- 
tucky, prepared and delivered an exhaustive re\new of Robert Morris's life 
and career, and how the effect of this discourse was heightened by all the 
arts of oratory for which this distinguished statesman was justly celebrated. 
He will tell how various organizations from the surrounding country aided by 
their presence in making the da}- a success ; how the village was decorated 
with gay colors, and how thousands upon thousands of visitors poured into 
Batavia until the old town was a mass of surging humanity. 

By this time the old building will have been reached, and as they pass 
through its portals and enter the rooms in which are displayed and neatly 
catalogued the various relics of the early century, the Batavian with lowered 
tones, but unlessened enthusiasm, will tell the salient points connected with 
the history of each, and thus his guest will in a few minutes absorb and men- 
tally digest a great deal of valuable data. 

As they turn away from the dead past to the living present the guest will 
thank his host for the pains he has taken, and assure him that the remem- 
brance of the pleasure he has experienced from this visit to the old structure 
will remain with him to the end of his davs. 



—61— 

{Rochester Deniocraf and Chronicle.^ 

In they came fi-om the country and the city; came in pairs and singly, 
came in carriages and himber wagons ; came on foot and came in palace 
coaches. 

By lo o'clock the streets were streaming with people, young and old, rich 
and poor. At the Lehigh station, where Secretary Carlisle and the ladies of 
the cabinet were expected to arrive, the crowd was densest and the impatience 
of the visitors grew strongest. From the break of day, too, the hybrid bands 
and regulars, the hose and fire companies, the cadets and high school hoys in 
festival array, the floats and carriages, the men, boys and children, who were 
to take part in the parade, joined their discordant music and commands with 
the murmurmg voice of the crowds, and blocked the thoroughfare here and 
there by their numbers. Boys and countrymen and countrywomen crowded 
and jostled each other in their eagerness to see and understand each and every 
new feature, and the crowds swayed. Ten thousand strangers were crowded 
into the environs of the village, and great was the day. 

{Bessie Chandler) 

For years I've stood alone disgraced, 

'Mifl the sun ouding villas, 
And foolish boys with birthday knives. 

Have come and hacked my pillars. 

And lovers, lingering at me. 

Have hurt me to the marrow 
By carving two ill-sbapen hearts, 

Pierced by a crooked arrow I 

And though I've tried to hold my own 

I could not help but mutter. 
When first a chimney 'd tumble down. 

And then I'd drop a shutter. 

With all the insults I have borne, 

My old blood burns and tingles ; 
It's hard to proudly rear your head, 

When you have lost your shingles ! 

But now, all this is past, is gone. 

I wake,— or am I dreaming? 
Is this respect, this honor mine, 

Or only empty seeming ': 

It is no dream, I live again, 

And time's increasing treadle 
The wheel of Fortune turns once more. 

And now I've got a medal ! 

My portrait from a cup shines forth. 

Yet on a spoon looks richer. 
It lurks within a pickle dish, 

It gleams upon a pitcher! 

They tell my story far and near. 

With many different versions. 
They hold committees every night, 

They're going to run excursions: 



— 62- 

And ill! the thiiifrs that once who luiiio 

Thoy'io busy relic hinitini;. 
And s\vei>t and garnished 1 shall be, 

And all dressed out in buntius: 

Far, far away those old days seem. 
When 1 was first erected, 
^ And it is sweet in one's old age 

To be ouf^e more respected. 

So now, brace up, oh peaked roof 1 

Stand fast, oh oaken portal ; 
Instead of slipping in the creek. 

We're going to be immortal I 

{Batavia Spirit of the Tz/nes.) 

Handsome souvenirs of the < r-casion have been prepared, among iheni 
being the medallion. It is of aluminum, a tritle larger than a silver half 
dollar, and shows on one side a picture of the old Holland Land Office sur- 
rounded bv the words, " Holland Purchase Land Office, Erected 1S04." The 
followmg inscription appears on the obverse side: "Dedicated to the mem- 
ory of Robert Morris, Patriot and Fmancier of the Revolution, Batavia, New 
York, Oct. 13, iSq4." Handsome souvenir spoons are also on sale These 
spoons are made of sterling silver, th.- handle being convex both back and 
front, and showing on the front the c. at of arms of the State of New York, 
and the words " New York " down the shank of the handle. The Land Office 
appears in the bowl in fine hand engraving and etching. In addition to the 
above a large line of fine souvenir china is on sale, which consists of cups and 
saucers, bonbon travs. olive trays, cream pitchers, pin and pen trays, comb 
and brush travs, bread and milk sets, fruit plates, siilad bowls, etc. The arti- 
cles are all of fine Limoges china, finished in white and gold, aiid each piece 
has a photograph of the old Land Office tmderneath the glaze. 

{Bitffa/o Express A 

A large delegation of Buffalo people went to Batavia on the morning 
trains. As the ceremonies themselves were commemorative of an occurrence 
so ancient in point of time, as time goes in these modern days, it was proper 
that everv Buffalonian should have a lineage as old as possible. So everyone 
was decorated with a neat m-ange badge reading: " 1S94 — New Amsterdam 
— iSoi." 

Buffalo took so prominent a part in the day's proceedings that even the 
Cabinet officers were wearing these badges before the day was over. 

Some of the Buffalonians. however, could do even better than the badges 
indicated. First there were representatives of the Holland Sons of New York. 
Every member of this Society can trace his lineage back through the male line 
to some Hollander who was a resident of the colonies prior to 1675. Members 
of this Society present were Sheldon T. Yiele, Peter P. Burtis, Dr. F. P. Yan 
Denbergh, Robert L. Fryer, J. M. Provoost and Judge A. A. Yan Dusen of 
Mayville. 

The Sons of the Revolution were represented by Sheldon T. Yiele. C. K. 



-63- 

Remington, W. Y. Warren, E. S. Warren, E. B. Guthrie, C. R. Wilson, 
George Clinton, T. B. Carpenter, T. C. Weleh, Harrison Granger, Dr. J. T. 
Cooke, Harvey W. Putnam, Walter Devereux, George A. Stringer. 

Among the Sons of the American Revolution were Andrew Langdon and 
John Otto. 

The Sons of the Colonial Wars were represented by Dr. Percy Brant and 
others. 

The Historical society delegation was headed by President Andrew Lang- 
don, George S. Hazard, James O. Putnam, W. C Bryant, H. S. Hill, George 
Townsend, E. C. Sprague and Dr. Joseph C. Greene. 

Various other Buffalo societies and organizations were also represented. 
Among them was a party of title-searchers. The presence of these men was 
very appropriate, for of all residents of Western New York none has more 
often to go back to the time of Robert Morris. They deal with his deed of all 
New York west of the Genesee River to the Holland Land Company in their 
daily business. 

Documents of rare historical value were also taken to Batavia from 
Buffalo. They comprise the original Morris deed and all the papers and cor- 
respondence pertaining thereto, which are now the possession of the Buffalo 
Historical Society, thanks to the efforts of Mr. George S. Hazard, ex-president 
of the Society, and to the kindness of Maj. Glowacki of Batavia, the last agent 
of the Holland Land Company. These papers were sealed in a large tin box 
and placed in charge of a guard of twelve men of the 65th Regiment, com- 
manded by Sergt-Maj. Philcox. On arrival at Batavia they were taken to the 
Land Company's office and placed in a large glass case. At the end of the 
day they were resealed and, still under guard, were returned to Buffalo last 
night. 

Seventy-nine officers and men of the 65th Regiment, under command of 
Capt. A. C. Lewis and Lieuts. L. L. Babcock and Theodore Beecher, and the 
65th Regiment Band also went down. 

Col. Welch, Quartermaster Putnam, Maj. A. H. Briggs, Capt. Clarence 
Wilson, Capt. G. Reed Wilson, Capt. Harry Mead and Lieut. William F. 
Fisher also went down in uniform, but did not parade. 

(Bafiji'/a Daily Ncics.) 

Henr)' L Glowacki and Leander Mix are now the only residents of Bata- 
via who were employed by the Holland Land company. Mr. Glowacki 
entered the employ of the original company in 1S34 while Da\nd E. Evans was 
the Local Agent. He was 21 j^ears of age and though sixty years have passed 
he recalls many interesting reminiscences of those days. 

Mr. Glowacki was one of the little band of Polish exiles, who landed in 
New York in the early thirties after having known the miseries of prison life 
for engaging with his compatriots in the Polish revolution in which the effort 
was made and failed to throw oft" the yoke of Russia. Born of parents in the 
higher walks of life he had received a good education in his native land and 
when he came to America he had letters of introduction to some of the most 
influential citizens. Through these letters he became acquainted with many 
prominent people and in passing through Batavia with a company of distin- 
guished men on the way to Niagara Falls he met David B. Evans, who offered 



-64- 

the 3rouilg patriot a position in the Holland Land Office. Though unable ttf 
speak or read English at the time Mr. Glowacki could copy papers and draw 
maps by following copy, and he made himself useful and soon acquired a 
knowledge of the English langut?ge. 

While serving as a clerk he studied law and was admitted to the bar and 
afterward, when the new owners of the land took possession, he acted as attor- 
ney for the Farmers' Loan and Trust company. While he was a clerk in the 
Land Office the exciting times of the Land Office war transpired and he, 
Robert W. Lowber, who is a resident of Bald Mountain, Washington county, 
and to-day is Mr. Glowacki's guest, Leander Mix, and a man named James 
Backus, then employed by Heman J. Redfield were entrusted with the duty 
of taking charge of the sleighs in which the records of the Land Office were 
transported to Rochester for safe keeping in the winter of 1836, when the 
attack of the disgruntled land owners was anticipated. When the danger 
from the mob had passed the same persons took the teams and brought the 
books back from Rochester. 

Mr. Mix, whose home is on Mix place, was 79 years old on September 19th 
last. He is in vigorous mental and bodily health and remembers much that 
is of interest connected with the pioneer times. 

{Batavia Daily Neivs.) 

The members of the Reception committee who went to the Lehigh Valley 
depot to greet the members of the Cabinet upon their arrival were D. W. Tom- 
linson, J. J. Washburn, William C. Watson, Arthur E. Clark and Frank B. 
Redfield. The Washington special consisting of a locomotive and two sleep- 
ers followed the Express tram which arrives from the east at 10:05. While 
the regular train stood at the station the Buffalo train came in on the east- 
bound track and while the committee were waiting the portly form of Post- 
master-General Bissell appeared between the baggage and day coach of the 
westbound train down at the west end ot the platform. The members of the 
committee immediately recognized him and by the tmie they reached the car 
steps Mrs. Bissell had joined her husband. General and Mrs. Bissell stood on 
the platform for some moments awaiting the coming of the special, which 
drew in as soon as the regular train pulled out. The first of the Washington 
party to step off the train was General Maxwell, who looked hearty aud well. 

It seemed as if the clouds had broken away just to give the distinguished 
guests a cheery welcome. Secretary-of-War Lamont and Mrs. Lam.ont fol- 
lowed from the rear car and Secretary-of State and Mrs. Gresham, Secretary- 
of-the-Treasury and Mrs. Carlisle, Secretary-of-the-Navy Herbert and his 
daughter Mrs. Micou, Mrs. Thurber, wife of the President's Private Secretary, 
Secretary-of-the. Interior Hoke Smith, General Frank H. Jones, First Assist- 
ant Postmaster-General, and the Hon. Thomas P. Benedict, Public Printer, 
appeared from the platform between the two cars. It took but a moment to 
place the distinguished visitors in carriages put at the disposal of the commit- 
tee by residents and they were all driven at once to the Hotel Richmond. 

The Lehigh regular from the east brought Mr. and Mrs. John B. Church 
of Geneva, and Mr. and Mrs. S. Fisher Morris of Eckman, W. Va. , who were 
driven immediately to the Richmond in Mrs. Dean Richmond's carriage. 
General Peter C. Doyle of Buffalo and General Northern Superintendent 
Beach of the Lehigh Valley arrived on the eastbound tram. 



-65- 

When the hotel was reached an enormous crowd pressed about the ladies' 
entrance and some difficulty was experienced in keeping a passage way opened, 
but in a short time all the distinguished visitors were disembarked and went to 
their quarters in the hotel. 

The members of the Ladies' Reception committee who greeted the Cabi- 
net ladies were Mrs. Robert A. Maxwell, Mrs. D. W. Tomlinson, Mrs. Trum- 
bull Gary, Mrs. F. B. Redfield, Mrs. Dr. Hutchins, Mrs. George Bowen, Mrs. 
S. E. North and Mrs. W. C. Watson. The Cabinet ladies were introduced by 
Mrs. Maxwell. 

At 4:30 o'clock this afternoon all the Cabinet officers and their wives will 
hold a public reception in the parlors of the Hotel Richmond to which all are 
invited. 

The Cabinet party, with the exception of Postmaster-General and Mrs. 
Bissell, who will depart tonight for Washington, will leave Batavia over the 
Lehigh Valley road at about S p. m., for Niagara Falls, where they will spend 
Sunday, leaving to-morrow evening on their return to Washington. Quarters 
for the guests have been engaged at the Cataract House by ex-Collector O. W. 
Cutler. 

{Bicffalo Express.) 

The parade was largely Batavia's, too, and here, as elsewhere, Batavia 
did itself proud. 

Led by the marshal, James A. Le Seur, the procession started south on 
State street towards Washington avenue and continued east on Washington 
avenue to Vine street, south on Vine street to East Main and west on Main 
to the Land Office on West Main street. First came the Genesee county 
mounted men with W. L. Colville as commander. The 65th Regiment Band 
headed the militia, the Eighth Separate Company of Rochester having the 
right of line inasmuch as its commander, Capt. Henderson, is the senior cap- 
tain in the State service. Next followed the 65th detachment, the G. A. R. 
posts, including delegations from Attica, Le Roy, Bergen, Corfu, Akron and 
Johnsonburg, the Sons of Veterans, Continental Drum Corps, High School 
Cadets, followed by the Indian band bedecked in war paint and feathers, 
which one old settler seemed to regard with a feeling akin to awe as he re- 
called the days when the Indians were but partly initiated into the society of 
the Pale Face. This division was commanded by Capt. G. W. Stanley, who 
was on Gen. Sheridan's staff during the war. 

The second division also made a good showing. It was headed by Capt, 
T. L^mch and staff. First came the Select Knights' Band, followed by the 
Catholic Mutual Benefit Association, the Catholic Benevolent Legion, the 
Ancient Order of Hibernians, all of Batavia, assisted by visiting societies ; the 
Le Roy Catholic Total Abstinence Society, and the St. Aloysius Society of St. 
Joseph's church, assisted by a band of orphans from Rochester. 

The third division was headed by Frank Lewis, assistant marshal and 
staff. For this division the Citizens' Band rendered the music. This was the 
division of industrial displays and was viewed with keen interest. The John- 
ston Harvester Company's display occupied about half a mile. It came first 
and was followed by that of the Wiard Plow Company, Ott & Fox, the Batavia 



— 66-- 

Wheel Company, the Wood Working Company, Cope Brothers and L. Uebele. 

The fourth division was commanded by C. H. Reynolds, assistant mar- 
shal and staff. The Le Roy Band furnished the music and was followed by 
the Le Roy Chemicals, the Bergen Fire Department, the Independent Order 
of Odd Fellows, the Ancient Order of United Workmen, the Turners, and the 
school children. 

The fifth division was led by G. H. Wheeler, assistant marshal and staff. 
The music for this division was rendered by the Bergen Band and was followed 
by a line of pioneers in carriages and oiificers in carriages. 

The industrial display attracted the most attention. The Johnston Har- 
vester Company made a tine display. First came a pair of oxen hitched to 
one of the primitive reapei-s and binders, and this was followed by the most 
modern and magnificent pieces of mechanism turned out of this enormous 
factory. There were about fifteen machines and various sizes of each kind. 
On a large platform wagon, covered with straw, were about a dozen Batavia 
young ladies attired in the garb of the pioneer days, loo years ago. This was 
followed by the sugar cane cultivator, in which Hoke Smith was interested. 

{Rocfuster Democrat and Chronicle.^ 

The display which passed through Batavia' s principal thoroughfare as 
between two solid columns of red, white and blue, received from the Wash- 
ington party unstinted praise. Under the difficulties with which they had to 
contend, it was a magnificent display and the originators of the various novel- 
ties deserve great credit for their enterprise. 

{Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.) 

The State park presented an appearance similar to none which has ever 
been witnessed within the confines of Batavia' s borders. For a time all seemed 
chaos and confusion, but when the command was given to march, things 
immediately assumed an appearance of order, and the parade, led by the mar- 
shal, James A. Le Seur, started south on State street towards Washington 
avenue, and continued east on Washington avenue to Vine street, south on 
Vine street to East Main and west on Main to the Land office on West Main 
street, followed by a mass of humanity, which had great difficulty in passing 
through a compact jumble of humanity, who preferred to stand while the 
parade passed. 

{Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.) 

The decorations at the State park, at the Land Office, and all along the 
streets of the embryo city, were of the most elaborate description. 

At the Land Office the decorations were in keeping with the other displays 
in the village. The small stone structure which served the Holland Company 
for its offices was one blaze of color, with the pillars and cornices sheathed in 
the national ensign. Above the gable peak which shades the porch was perched 
an «agle above a national shield with quiver and arrows astant. 



At the ^tate park the decorations in bunting and flags were in abundant 
evidence. The speakers' stand was draped in red, white and blue. The grand 
stand and press box were also covered with streaming bunting and the 
national colors. 

{Rochester Union and Advertiser.) 
The procession was over an hour passing the reviewing stand. 

{Batavia Daily News.) 

Assistant Marshal Frank Lewis and staff headed the division and were 
followed by two men in Continental uniform bearing aloft a streamer on which 
was inscribed : "The Continental Light Battery of the Johnston Harvester 
Company." The Citizens' band came next and then followed the magnificent 
display of machinery manufactured by the Johnston company, the display 
being over a quarter of a mile m length. The advance guard consisted of 
three pioneer farmers on foot, who bore in their hands a scythe, a hay rake 
and a grain cradle, all labeled " 1804." They were followed by a rude oxcart 
constructed from pieces of small timber with the bark left on and drawn by a 
3'oke of oxen. On this cart was one of the first mowers made by the companj' 
in 1S54. It had but one wheel and a rigid cutting bar, and the wood and iron 
work showed the effects of time. 

The present period, 1894, came next, being represented by one of the 
company's " Continental" mowers, with all the up-to-date improvements. It 
was drawn by three blanketed ponies, two abreast and one ahead. The parts 
of this machine were pamted in red, white and blue and decorated with bunt- 
ing, as were all of the machines in the display. Its driver wore a Continental 
uniform and so did nearly all of the drivers. A " Continental " reaper, with 
tour rakes, drawn by a pair of horses, whose ariver was dressed in Turkish 
costume, was next in order, and that was followed by three mowing machines 
with a 5, 6 and 7 foot cut, each drawn by two horses. Then came the " King 
of Reapers," with five rakes drawn by two horses, whose driver wore the dress 
of a Russian peasant. 

A beautiful float, 14 feet long and eight feet wide, drawn by four horses 
whose driver was " Uncle Sam" followed. It was gayly decorated with the 
national colors and on it were nine young ladies. One of them was attired to 
represent the Goddess of Liberty and the balance wore the costumes and bore 
the flags of the foreign countries in which the company sells many machines; 
England, France, Germany, Russia, Turkey, Argentine Republic, Spain, and 
Denmark. 

Next came a cotton cultivator, drawn by a pair of mules with a colored 
driver, and that was followed by a wheel corn cultivator and a sugar-beet har- 
vester, each drawn by two horses, and a beet cultivator with eight spiders, 
drawn by one horse. A seven-foot-cut twine binder, with gaily decorated high 
reel with a double star on its outer end, was drawn by three horses abreast. 
The " Bonnie," a new harvester and binder which has just been put on the 
market by the company, and which has a six-foot cut and is only 3 ',< feet high, 
came next, being drawn by two light carriage horses, whose blankets bore the 
date "1894." On the bundle carrier were sheaves of grain. This was fol- 



—6S- 

lowed by a 'Continental" pulverizer and a new diamond frame Vineyard 
harrow, each beinsf on trucks and drawn bv two horses. 

Next came a curiosity in the shape of machinery in this section. It was 
a monster header, used for cutting only the heads from grain, a machine made 
for the South American trade and called in that country "'La Espigadora." 
It cuts a swath 12 feet wide and was in operation. It was pushed, instead of 
drawn, by four white horses, with two drivers and a steerer. 

The last feature of the display was a monster float sixteen feet wide and 
thirty feet long, drawn by eight well matched horses. From the outer edge 
of the float to the ground bunting was draped and a heaN-A- nickel railmg sur- 
rounded it with steps leading up from the ground on either side. FroLU the 
railing on one side the words " The Johnston Harvester Company " in gilt 
letters were suspended, and on the other •• Batavia. X. Y., U. S. A." At each 
comer was a silk banner bearing the name of the company, and three Ameri- 
can flags were displayed. In the center of the float, on a revolving pedestal, 
were four frames containing medals received by the company. Grouped 
about were two moulders at work, a blacksmith and his helper at a forge, a 
carpenter at his bench, a machinist working a drill and another at a \*is,e, a 
painter at work, a box maker making packing crates, a finisher and a packer 
boxing part ;. and an expert testing a binder tire. From elevated seats George 
and Martha Washington in miniature watched the workmen. 

The Wiard Plow company's display excited much admiration. First was 
a float of novel construction. It was 12 feet high in the center and was stepped 
down on either side. On the summit were grouped plows, weeders and corn 
planters, and on the steps on each side were ^leautif uUy finished plows. The 
float was covered and decorated with white cloth ani bunting and was covered 
with a pecifliarly shaped canopy formed of many-colored fabrics. It was 
drawn h\ four horses wearing blankets on which were inscribed the words: 
"The Wiard Plow Company, Established 1806." The float was followed by 
a Wiard wheel rake, gavly decorated and drawn by one horse. 

Ott & Fox, blacksmiths, were in line with a novel display. On a large 
float decorated with bunting and drawn by two horses, was a forge and anvil 
and blacksmiths were at work making horseshoes. 

Next came two floats representing the Batavia Wheel company's industry-. 
The first, which was drawn by four horses, was ten feet wide and twenty -four 
feet long. It was surrounded above the floor %vith a decorated railing and 
below was trimmed with evergreens. At the front end of the float was a re- 
vohnng wheel, thirteen feet high, trimmed with flags and bunting, and four 
men were at work on it — one at a forge, another welding tire and the remain- 
ing two doing handwork on wheels. The second float, which was handsomely 
decorated and drawn by two horses, had on it a pj-ramid of beautifully finished 
wheels. 

The Bata\-ia and New York Wood Working Company's display was very 
appropriate and attracted much attention. It was a float about twelve feet 
long with bunting on the sides, wood rosettes in the center and bunting-dec- 
orated wheels. Six posts were erected from the sides of the float and various 
colored sha\-ings were festooned between them. It was dravcn by tAvo horses 
wearing brass-mounted harness which was also decorated \vith shaA-ings. On 
the float were half a dozen cabinet-makers, wearing aprons and caps, and 



-69- 

making pirture frames for cabinet-sized pictures, which were distributed to the 
crowd, together with butter pats, cups and saucers and rolHng pins turned 
from wood. 

O. G. & W. E. Cope, pump manufacturers, were the next in Hne with a 
good-sized float, nicely trimmed. It was drawn by four horses. At the for- 
ward end was a complete displaj- of the wood pumps made by the Arm, in the 
center were the iron force-pumps for which they are agents, one of them being 
in operation, and in the rear were an old oak pump constructed in 1794 hy an 
ancestor of the firm, an old well crotch and " the old oaken bucket." 

W. C. Underbill, clothier, was out with his advertising wagon drawn by 
a yoke of oxen. On top of the wagon was a mechanical figure which created 
much amusement. J. B. Fonda and A. E. Brown also had advertising wagons 
in line. 




BaTAVIA U.Ml.N S> HOUl. 



{Baiavia Spirit of the litnes.) 

The project began to drag and seemed in some danger of falling through, 
when the class of '94 of the Batavia High School took hold of the matter, and 
by raising $300 made the purchase of the building possible. 



—70— 

(Rochester Po'si ^,^f)ress\) 

The school boys made a splendid impression, tlieir d'rilling being really: 
excellent. They received great applause all albng the line. 

{Rochester Union and Advert'tser.')' 

The High School Cadets made a fine showing". They a-re Gonisidered the; 
best drilled company of boys in the State. 

( Buffalo' Express^. )' 

The High School Cadets were up long befoi'e daylight and dlonned their 
neat blue-and-white Continental uniforms. The vet«rans^ bru«hed their blue- 
uniforms and polished their badges. The women folks got breakfast out of 
the way bright and early. Then the last touches were given X.o 6he house 
decorations. If there was a building in the entire town which did- not have 
its trappings of red, white and blue, it must have been somewhere out ofc 
Sight. Batavia was decorated as it had never been before. American flags 
and bunting was everywhere. Every house was hung with them. Every 
part was wrapped with them. Every man, woman and child wore from one. 
to a dozen badges and a proud smile. For wasn't Batavia to become famous^ 
from this day forth in the annals of the land? Certainly. The members of 
the various committees were everywhere. They had much to do, and did it 
all well. 

s( . People from the surrounding towns poured into Batavia early. The- 
first big delegation by train was that from Buffalo. The famous old Conti- 
nental Drum Corps and the High School Cadets met thi guard of the Morris, 
deed and escorted it to the Land Office. 

{^Buffalo Courier.) 

The Hi^h'-School Cadets marched to the quickening music of the Conti- 
nental DMrn Corps. They area fine-looking company of 60 young students 
who were commanded by Captain William Homelius. The boys wore natty 
and showy Continental knee breeches of white, dark blue coats, trimmed' 
with white, with straps and black hats. The Corps gave ample evidence all 
along the route of march of the efficiency of its drill and executed well nu- 
merous movements which elicited round after round of applause. 

{Batavia Daily News.) 

The Continental Drum Corps, ten men, and the High School Cadets, 
numbering sixty, came last in the division. Dean Hickox was captain of the 
Cadets and William Hooker, Lieutenant. 

The celebrated Continental Fife and Drum corps attracted lots of atten- 
tion. Of the ten members who are present six are over seventy years of age, 
the oldest being Snare Drummer Edwin Rowley, a veteran of the Black 
Hack war. Three of the drums used saw service in the Revolutionary war. 
The corps was reorganized from the old 184th Regiment drqrn corps, which 



—71 — 

disbanded in 1841, and six of the members of the old corps are members of 
the present org-anization. The leader and Drum Major is George W. Carr 
of Buffalo, aged 60 years. The musicians were costumed in Continental un- 
iforms. 

Behind the corps marched sixty excellently drilled High School Cadets, 
looking very handsome in their bright Continental uniforms. 

(.V. A. Woodward.) 

I can see him now— as I saw him then. 
When I was a lad— and my years. but ten: 
Though the years ihave sped and my beard is gray— 
I can see him low as I did that day; 
That aged miller— whase loclis thin and white. 
Were fanned by a breeze that was cool and light. 
At eventide of a summer's day. 
When the old grist mill had ceased to play, 
And the overshot wheel no longer rolled round. 
With a spash of water, and rumbling sound; 
When the King of day with a shining vest, 
Behind the green hill retiring to rest. 
Cast a golden gleam o"er the sky's deep blue, 
As he bade the world an eveuing adieu. 
Then he came forth from that old brown mill, 
That stood by the race that ran down the hill ; 
With his ruddy cheeks and his look serene. 
His full round chest and his martial mien. 
Though his garb was white with flour and dust. 
He looked like a man a nation could trust. 
The music he loved and had from a boy. 
Was the shrill toned fife— his solace and joy. 
And he played it still ;--and at close of diy. 
When the old mill ceased its jarring play, 
Its whirring around with a rumbling sound, 
Wnile many a grist for neighbors was ground. 
In "Seventy-six" with his fife in hand, 
Then a lad— he joined the patriot band. 
Who periled their lives that this might be, 
From thenceforth called "The Land of the Free ;" 
' Though then too young to take up arms, 

He sought a place mid war's alarms. 
The thicker the bullets around him flew. 
The louder his shrill. toned fife he blew, 
And its piercing tones gave the patriots cheer, 
For the fifer showed no signs of fear ; 
And that fife was heard on the left and right, 
Wherever occurred the thickest fight. 
That war was a long and weary one ; 
But it ceased at last, when freedom was won; » ; 

And the lad, a youth, unharmed went home, 
But clung to that fife— where'er he might roam. 
In the war with England which next occurred. 
That warlike fife at the front was heard. 
He piarched at the head of a martial band, 
That played for the men.who fought for the land. 
Warlike and stirring Were the tunes he played, ) 

When battallions stood in battle arrayed; 
Sad and mournful were the notes for the dead. 
When a comrade's tears for the slain were shed. 



—72— 

He went through the war with never a wouid. 
Became a miller--and many grists ground; 
Yet, still played the fife, and at close of day. 
In front of the mill, would stand and play. 
I can see him now as I saw him then. 
When I was a lad and my years but ten; 
Though the years have sped and my beard is gray, 
I can see him now as I did that day; 
That aged lifer with locks thin and white 
Blown back by a breeze that was cool and light. 
And the tune he played was a dirge for the hrave. 
It was called, he said: "Napoleon's Grave;" 
So mournful the notes, that they touched my heart; 
And he played them too, with such magic art. 
That I saw before me a great man dead. 
Who had lately stood at a nation's head; 
A soldier of fortune who had won renown, 
A coffined hero, who late wore a crown. 
Who fought great battles, his last battle o'er. 
And monarchs shall dread his frown nevermore. 
An august warrior— so mighty and brave. 
About to be laid in the cold, damp grave. 
And I saw them place the turf o'er his head, 
As they laid him to rest in his lonely bed. 
On a rocky isle — where the sobbing surge, 
And the wind's sad wail, are his only dirge. 
***** 

The musical notes of that tuneful life, 
Oft heaid by the brave, in the battle strife, 
No longer are heard in front of the mill. 
For that mill is gone,— it hath passed away— 
The tooth of time hath wrought its decay; 
The grists at the mill, no longer are tolled. 
By that robust miller— so brave and bold; 
At four score and ten, the good man died. 
They laid him to rest— his fife by his side. 
For he loved it still, with his latest breath. 
And they parted them not. in sable death. 
A plain marble slab now marks the place, 
A worthier monument ought to grace. 

{Buffalo Express.) 

The party from Washington was expected over the Lehigh Valley short- 
ly after lo o'clock. It was near ii o'olock before Messrs A. E. Clark, F. B. 
Redfield, D. W. Tomlinson and J. J. Washburn of the Reception Committee 
were enabled to put on their best smile and shake the hands of the dis- 
tinguished Government officers and raise their hats to the ladies. The 
party was speedily driven to the Hotel Richmond, where they greeted a 
number of friends. Postmaster General Bissell and wife were there to re- 
ceive them. In the party were Secretary and Mrs. Gresham, Secretary and 
Mrs. Carlisle, Secretary and Mrs. Lamont, Secretary Herbert and Mrs. 
Micou, Secretary Smith and the wife of Private-Secretary Thurber ; Gen. 
Jones, First Assistant Postmaster-General ; Robert A. Maxwell. Fourth As- 
sistant Postmaster General, and Public-Printer Benedict. State-Treasurer 
and Mrs. Colvin were also present. 

Among noteworthy guests of the day were Fisher Morris and wife of 



—73 ■ 

West Virginia, Robert iNIorris of Pottsville, Pa., and Mr. and Mrs. John B. 
Church of Geneva. Their interest was more direct and personal than that 
of any other persons present, for they are lineal descendants of Robert Mor- 
ris, and they thus were able to participate in ceremonies attendant upon 
the erection of the first and only monument to the memory of their famous 
ancestor. 

Politics were barred on this trip. Great pains had been taken to make 
this fact known. The man who said, " Well, how's politics ?" would have 
seen the Secretary addressed vanish into thin air. Even Secretaries Bissell 
and Smith, big as they are, could have done the trick. This rule is to be 




strictly adhered to until the party gets back to Washington. It won't even 
talk politics at Niagara Falls to-day. 

■ At the Central and Erie depots the distinguished guests were welcomed 
by the following official committee: The Hon. John M. McKenzie, Dr. H. J. 
Burkhart, J. H. Bradish, C. H. Dolbeer, A. D. Scatchard, F. S. Wood, the 
Rev. A. M. Sherman, the Rev. Thomas Cardus and Dr. W. B. Whitcomb. 

All distinguished visitors immediately on their arrival were driven to the 
Richmond Hotel, where they were welcomed b, the following special Re' 
ception committee. The Hon. George Bowen, the Hon, Edward C. Walker, 
the Hon. H. F. Tarbox, D. Armstrong, J. H. Ward, John Thomas W. D. 
Sanford, George W. Lay, C. W. Hough, Byron E. Huntley, E. W. Atwater, 
George Wiard, Holden T. Miller, John F. Ryan, B. R. Wood, John M. Sea- 
cord, Myron H. Peck, Jr., Dr. W. T. Bolton and Andrew T. Miller. 

[Batavia Spirit of TJie Times.) 

The following resolution was adopted : " Resolved, that every commun- 
ity in Western New York be requested to raise the American flag at 12 



—74— 

o'clock sharj), in recognition and honor of the great event, as it is estimated 
that the parade will be completed by that time, and that tlic unveiling of the 
tablet will take place at that moment. 

{Rochester I'nioit aitd Advertiser.) 

It was at high noon. Whistles screeched, guns boomed, and flags 
dipped. The drums of many bands rolled a long reveille and the trumpets 
shrilled a mighty fanfare. The long procession of men stood with uncover- 
ed heads. Horses, looking gay in gorgeous trappings, pawed the ground 
nervously and champed their bits impatiently. And above this impressive 
scene from horizon to horizon line hung a dark, forbidding sky of wind swept 
gray. The big hands of the clock in the red church tower clasped and point 
ed to the hour. It was high noon. And at that moment, amidst this im- 
pressive demonstration, Secretary Gresham touched the button and the veil 
that shrouded the large white tablet in the Holland Land Office parted and 
fell at the feet of the Cabinet officers grouped about with uncovered heads. 

Then in fitting, eloquent, almost burning words, the Rt. Rev. Stephen 
Vincent Ryan, Bishop of Buffalo, delivered the dedicatory prayer. 

There was a long silence until the la^t words of the l)ishophad trembled 
away, and then the bands all broke into melodies, and men cheered and 
women waved their handkerchiefs, small boys jumped about and yelled, 
whistles screeched. It was a great moment. And just for a moment the sun 
pierced the tissue of leaden clouds and smiled on the white tablet dedicated 
to the memory of Robert Morris. 

Here, in a little village in Western New York the people have, after many 
long years, honored the name of a great man. In striking contrast is the 
neglected weed grown grave in an obscure corner of a Philadelphia ceme- 
tery, where is confined the dust of the man who did as much as any man to 
win the war of the Revolution. 

{Rochester Democrat and Chrottic/eA 

The marble tablet, which now proclaims to the world that Robert Mor- 
ris is not to be forgotten by his country, is set in the Land Office wall directly 
above the front entrance. It is two feet wide and four feet long, and has the 
following inscription upon it in large letters : 

ERECTED l8 — . 

DEDICATED 1894. 

TO THE MEMORY OF 

ROBERT MORRIS. 

(Bitffa/o Express.) 

The tablet on the Land Office Building was still to be unveiled before 
the morning's e.xercises came to an end. Great crowds thronged down to 
West Main street. The building was fir^t opened yesterday as a museum, 
and already contains a number of valuable historical relics, prominent 
among which are the great iron doors which once swung to and fro on the 
vaults of the Holland Land Company. Of course, the next interesting fea- 
ture of the display was the papers brought from Bufialo by the Historical 



-75— 

Society. Crowds had thronged the building during the morning, but when 
the hour for the unveiling of the tablet arrived, the building was cleared. 
The clouds broke away at this time, and it promised to be fair for the 
remainder of the day. 

The ceremonies were very brief here. No speeches were made. JNIr. J. 
W. Le Seur introduced Secretary Gresham as the one to unveil the tablet 
over the entrance. As Judge Gresham pulled the strings attached to the two 
small Ameriean flags which hung over the tablet, the sun came out and flood- 
ed it with golden light. The tablet is about two feet square, and bears this 
inscription; 

ERECTED . 

DEDICATED 1 894. 

TO THE MEMORY OF 

ROBERT MORRIS. 

It had been supposed that the building was erected in i<So4, but on search 
it was found that no trustworthy record was in existence, and so the date of 
erection is left blank. 

{Buffalo Cfltirie r. ) 

When the last of the procession had passed in review the Cabinet officials, 
including Secretaries Gresham, Carlisle, Smith, Lamont, and I5issell took 
places upon the platform before the Land Office and with them the Rt. Rev. 
Bishop S. V. Ryan and Chancellor Sheahan of the diocese of Buffalo, Chair- 
man of General Committee Dr. J. W. Le Seur. County Judge North, and 
other distinguished personages. Ur. Le Seur introduced Bishop Ryan, who 
offered the dedicatory prayer. The venerable and beloved clergyman 
braved weather that would have caused a much younger and hardier man to 
shrink, and his expression of thanks for the past, appreciation for the pres- 
ent, and hopes for the future was in every way what the occasion required. 
Secretary of State Gresham entered the Land Office and pulled the cord that 
drew from before the tablet over the door the American flag which draped 
it. The 6;th Regiment Band played, and that part of the programme was 
completed. 

(IhifiJTna Daily Neivs.^ 

By II :20 o'clock, when the head of the procession passed the Land Office, 
fully 2,000 people had assembled in the vicinity of that building. The dis- 
tinguished guests reached the reviewing stand in front of the building at 
11:30, being brought in carriages from the Richmond. 

Exactly at 1 1 40 o'clock Chairman Le Seur of the General Committee 
announced the opening of the unveiling exercises and the Sixty fifth Regi- 
ment Band rendered a selection. Secretary Gresham then stepped to the 
entrance to the Land Oflice and pulled aside the flags which concealed the 
tablet over the doorway, which announced that the building was dedicated 
to the memory of Robert Morris 

Bishop Ryan of Buffalo was then introduced by Chairman Le Seur. 
When the venerable prelate stepped to the center of the platform the sun ap- 
peared and shone brighter. In his invocation the Bishop referred to the 



-76 

fiarly struggles of the infant nation for freedom and referred to RolDert Alof- 
ris as one whose patriotism and generosity did so much in furthering the 
righteous cause which lie espoused. He prayed that the blessing of the Deity 
might fall upon the monument dedicated to-day, upon the nation, and upon 
all those in authority. 

After the prayer the exercises were brought to a close with a second 
selection by the band. 

The distinguished guests then entered and inspected the interior of the 
Land Office, passing between ranks of Sixty-fifth Regiment soldiers, and af- 
terwards returned to the Richmond. 

{Jo /in H. Yates:) 

DEDICATION POEM. 

When to tlie banks of Jordan's rolling tide 

The hosts of (Jod from far off Efrypt came— 
With cloudy pillar their long march to guide. 

Past Sinai's awful mount of smolie and flame. 

They found no passage the dark waters o'er, 

No way to cross the overflowing stream. 
And Israel's warriors stood upon the shore 

But could not reach the Canaan of their dream. 

Then Joshua, their leader, strong and true. 

Lifted his voice and soul to God in prayer. 
While angel hands the billows backward threw. 

And made a passage for God's people there. 

The ark of God moved on at his command. 

And forward moved the host o'er Jordan's bed ; 
Their feet as drv as when, through burning sand, 

Tlieir weary way the cloudy pillar led. 

Then reared they high a monument of stones. 

To tell to generations yet unborn 
How he, the King of Kings, on throne of thrones. 

Held back the waters on that glorious morn. 

In after years, when sunny youth iuciuired -, , 

'• What mean tliese stones ': " the gray-haired fathers told 

The story that again their bosoms firel. 
The story of dellv'rances of old. 

Before us stands this monument of ours, 

That hath these many years the storms witlistood ; 
Reared "mid the perfumes of the forest flowers. 

In shadows cast by monarehs of the wood. 

Reared on the banks of Ton-a-wau-da's stream. 

Which, fed by living springs and rippling rills. 
Winds down the vale as gentle as a dream. 

From the blue domes of the Wyoming hills. 

Reared at the junction of two Indian trails. 
Where chieftains met to seal some white man's doom ; 

While war cries mingled with the night wind's wails 
And council fires lit up tlie forest's gloom. 



— 77 — 

To day. when sunny youth of us inciuires 

" What mean these stones? " we st(jp with pride to tell 
Of wonders wrought by high Ambition's (ires. 

And honest toil, o'er every hill and dell. 

As sea shells sing forever of the sea. 
Though borne inland a thousand miles away. 

So do tliese walls give forth to you and me 
The sounds and songs of our forefathers' day. 




I hear the echo of the woodman's stroke 
Resounding through the aisles of forest gray ; 

The crash of giant elm and sturdy oak. 
As they for towns and fertile fields make way. 

I h^ar the stage horn's blast at close of day. 
The wheels that nimble o'er the rugged road, 

Wliile feeding deer affrighted speed away. 
To tangled thickets of their wild abode. 

I hear the postman as he hastens here 

Prom forest op'nings, where the blue smoke curled, 
O'er winding pathways, desolate and drear. 

Where now are beaten highways of the world . 

The breaking twigs in thicket dense I hear, 
Where stealthy panther creeps upon his prey ; 

The victim's struggle and his cries of fear. 
Which fainter grow, and die, at last, away. 

I hear the whirring of the spinning wheel, 
The crackling of the logs on fireplace bright. 

The scythe stone grinding on the blade of steel. 
The owl cotnplaining thrQugh the Iqpely night. 



-7S- 

t hear the merriments of olden times, 
Tlie apple-parinss an('. ttie Iniskiii? bees ; 

The lauy:hter riuj;iu^ out like merry eliinies 
From rustic haiints beneatli the forest trees. 

•' What nieaii these stones '/ " Tliey tell of honest meti, 

Who lived in years now flown away. 
Who toiled for lis with hammer, plow, and {ieii, 

From rosy morn until the evening gray. 

Their ^rande^t castles, builded in the air, 
WluMi they at noon sought rest in sha 1y dell. 

Were not, thotmli fancy painted, half so fair 
As these in which their .•hildren's cbiUiren dwell. 




We now enjoy the fruitage of their toil, 

From where the Genesee's bright water's flow. 
To where Niagara's billows in turmoil 
Plunge o"er the precipice to depths below. 

All lioiior to those noble men who laid 
The tirni foundation of our wealth and pride : 

They rest to-day beneath the maple's shade. 
All undisturbed by traftic's surging tide. 

O. could they wake from slumlier of the tomb. 
What changes would ihey note beneath these skies 1 

A wilderness transformed to Eden bloom. 

With wonders everywhere to greet their eyes. 

What though their forms have crumbled iito dust, 
Their deeds shall shine resplendent as the sun ; 

What tliough their plowshares are consumed by rust, 
The work they wrought will never be undone. 



79' 



All honor to that man who forvvarti came 
In "times that tried men's souls," lorij; years ajro. 

And frave his wealth and pledged his spotless name, 
To drive forever from our shores the foe. 

The memory of Morris lonjr shall stand. 
With honor erowiie i beneath these sunny skies ; 

The sons and daughters of our favored land 
Will not forget his love and sacrifice. 

'Twas he who wakened from tbeir wild repose 
These hills and valleys, stretching far away, 

That niw unfold their beauty like the rose 
That gives its dew drops to the kiss of Day. 




When armies faltered for the lack of bread. 
When bugles ceased to call and drums to beat. 

He came with patriot heart and hasty tread. 
And laid his millions at his country's feet. 

Freedom's immortal Declaration bears 
The name of Morris on its sacred page ; 

With changing years his record brighter wears, 
Wh'le granite crumbles at the touch of Age. 

Then dedicate this structure to his name. 
While music sweet floats out upon the air. 

These walls shall to the world speak foitli his fame, 
And these fair valleys shall bs still more fair. 



As sea shells sing forever of the sea. 

Bear them away from ocean where thou wilt. 
So shall ye sing. O walls, through years to be, 

Of great success on firm foundation built. 



So 



The .-tonus aiKi U'tiiin'sts of I lit' rolliiifr years 
Uavo ln'at tliy irianiti- walls by iiislit and day, 

Yi't tliou hast stood, amid man's hopes and re:trs. 
To see the hands that made thee mould away. 

Thou Shalt remain to bid this land rejoiee, 
Till these fair youths who jraze upon thee now 

Shall speak thy praises with a trembliuir voieo. 
When hoary hairs adorn eaeh wrinkled brow. 

The waves of proirress whieh have swept away 
Thy brother landnuirks. built of wood or stone. 

Broke at thy feet and vanished into spray. 
And left thee, gray old monareh, here— alone. 




" A thinsr of beauty " thou hast always stood, 
" A thiui; of beauty "" thou shall ever stand. 

At first the srlorv of the lonely wood. 
But now the irlory of the teemins land. 



Sins on O walls, thouch years their ehanses briuir, 
Sinjr on while all the bells of progress ohime. 

Sing of the past, of future slory sinjr. 
While thy ipiaint form defies the mareh of time ; 



—St - 

{Roi/it-x/(i' Diiiiocrat and C/iroiinlc.) 

The cabinet officers entered the Old Land Office on a tour of inspection. 
Wliile within, tlic descendants of Robert Morris were presented to them. 
Their names are Fisher Morris of Virginia, a great grandson of the famous 
financier; Mrs. John B. Church, a great granddaughter ; and Robert Morris, 
a great, great grandson, who hails from Pottsville, Pa. There were man}^ 
ancient historical curiosities on exhibition in tlic old building, which were 
closely scrutenized by the members of the distinguished party. Each of the 
cabinet otHcers then signed the book and became charter members of the 
Holland Purchase Historical Society. A guard of soldiers was then placed 
outsule the building. 




{Batav/a Daily Neuis.^ 

Thousands of people visited the Land Office and inspected the many in 
teresting relics exhibited there. As far as is known only one theft occurred 
there. A very old linen pillow case is missing. 

Mr. and Mrs. Lcander Mix were at the office during a portion of the day 
and entertained visitors with many interesting reminiscences of pioneer days. 

At one time the crowd in the room on the east side of tjje hall was so great 
that the floor sunk about four inches. 



{Batavi'a Daily Ncivs.') 

Mrs. Gfeorg'e W. Lay has presented to the Holland Purchase Historical 
.S(jciety a fine half lize-size portrait of Red Jacket, from Wakeman's studio. 
J. C. Youngs has presented a corn mash, bread bowl and pappose holder 
made by Seneca Indians ; Thomas Gary of Buffalo a family tree of the Gary 
and Brisbane families ; Mrs. Royce of Batavia a spinning wheel, and F. B. 
Redfield and William Seaver four old fire buckets which belonged to H. J. 
Redfield and Seaver & Son. 

{Rochester Union and Advertiser.) 

The present structure is located just west of the Walnut street bridge on 
West Main street, which spans the Tonawanda creek, and faces the north' 
At the rear only a few yards back is the creek. The building itself has- a 
frontage of about 46 feet and in depth is about 35 feet, the height being in 
proportion. The lot extends back to the creek. The structure is a two-story 
edifice, well lighted by large windows in the front, rear and sides. In the 
front is a quaint wooden porch. The floor of the porch is laid with flagging. 
The builders evidently intended that the structure should stand the storms of 
many years, building it of stone in the most substantial manner. As you en- 
ter the front door you find yourself in a roomy hall which diviJes the rooms, 
four in number, two on each side. The apartments are commodious and 
airy. The rooms above are practically the same, all well lighte 1 as those be- 
low. All of the apartments are well supplied with closets for storing papei s. 
In the rear room on the first floor on the west side can be seen the old vault 
with its iron doors locking with a key, which was usel as a st )ring place in 
case of fire and robbery, of many valuable papers. It is only when the dusty 
garret is reached that the individual realizes the sturdy strength of the old 
building. There can be seen the massive oaken beams which were hewn out 
and remain to-day without a sign of decav to show that they were not just 
placed in position. The building stands to-day piactically the .same as it did 
years ago when first erected, time having caused but few changes, and as i 
will undoubtedly stand for years to come a monument to the skill of its build- 
ers. Of recent date a force of carpenters, painters and masons have been at 
work restoring it to its original state. A new roof has been put on, and the 
building thoroughly overhauled and repaired. A cement walk has been laid 
at the front, and the building now presents an entirely different aspect from 
what it did several months ago. The Holland Purchase Historical Society 
proposes to use it as a museum, storing historical relics connected with the 
Holland Purchase within its walls. The office was discontinued in 1837. 

{Batavia Daily Ne%vs.) 

Lunch was served in the corridors of the Hotel Richmond at i o'clock. 
Among the distinguished guests who sat at the tables were Robert Morris of 
Johnsonburg, Pa., a great-grandson of Robert Morris, S. Fisher Morris of 
Eckman, W.^Va , also a great-grandson of the distinguished patriot, and Mrs. 
Morris, who is a descendant of the family of George Washington; Mr. and 
Mrs. John B. Ghurch of_^Geneva,'Mrs. Church being a descendant of Robert 
Morris; the Hon. Walter_Q. Gresham, 'Secretary of ^State ; the Hon. John Q- 



Carlisle, Secretary of the Treasury ; the Hon. Daniel S. Lament, Secretary of 
War; the Hon. Wilson S. Bissell, Postmaster General; the Hon. Hilary A. 
Herbert, Secretary of the Navy; the Hon. Hoke Smith, Secretary of the In- 
terior; First-Assistant- Postmaster-General Jones, Public-Printer Benedict and 
the other invited guests as follows: The Hon. William Pool, editor of the 
Niagara Falls Courier ; H. A. Dudley, editor of the Warsaw New Yorker ; 
the Hon. A. G. Dow and his daughter, Mrs. Jackson, of Randolph ; Mr. and 
Mrs. Charles M. Dow of Jamestown ; William C. Bryant, John Otto and Miss 
Otto, descendants of Jacob S. Otto, second local agent of the Holland Com- 
pany; Mrs. Ellen Stone, Mrs. M. A. Chase, Dr. Joseph C. Green, Mrs. Green 
and Miss Green, Thomas Cary and Miss Love of Buffalo, ex-Senator James 
H. Loomis of Attica, and many others. 

Members of the Reception Committee who were present were: D. W. 
Tomlinson, J. H. Bradish, J. H. Ward, M. H. Peck, Jr., Arthur E. Clark, 
Andrew T. Miller, J. J. Washburn, C. W. Hough, John M. McKenzie, and 
the following ladies of the Auxiliary Reception Committee: Mrs. George H. 




Hotel Richmond. 

Holden, Mrs. W. C. Watson, Mrs. Hinman Holden, Mi-s, Joseph F. Hall and 
Mrs. G. S. Griswold. 

Dinner will be served by the same caterer at the same place at 5 p. m. , 
54 covers having been laid. The menu will be as follows: 

Blue Points. 
Cream of Asparagus Soup. Salmon, Hollandaise Sauoe. 

Parisian Potatoes. 
Fillet of Mignon, with Mustirooms. 

Potato au Gratin. 
Baked Cauliflower, with Cream Sauce. 
Marischino Punch. 
Roast Partridges, Maderia Sauce. Lettuce, French Dressing. 

Crackers and Cheese. 
Fancy Ice Cream. Assorted Cakes. 

Fruit. Coffee. 

The tables are set in the form of a T on the Main street side of the hotel, 



- 84- 

and potted plants arc prettily banked at the north end of the corridor. The 
rooms occupied by distinj^-uished guests are also decorated with cut flowers 
and potted ]:)lants. 

{^Buffalo Express.) 

Not the least pleasant side of the day was the various social courtesies ex- 
tended. Shorth- after 12 o'clock all the Cabinet officers were entertained at 
lunch served in the Hotel Richmond. The tables were spread in the parlors 
of the hotel and were handsomely decorated. The members of the re- 
ception and General Committees sat down. In the meantime the ladies of 
the Washington party were driven to the home of Mrs. D. W. Tomlinson, 
where they were graci'nisly received by the hostess, who was assisted by Mrs. 
Robert A. Maxwell, wife of the Fourth Assistant Postmaster General. Lunch- 
eon was served here and then the ladies were driven to the State Park. 

Another pleasant social event was the reception given the visiting news- 
paper men. The handsome rooms of the Alert Hose Company on Main 
sti'eet were set apart as press head(iuarters, and there a Committee headed by 
Postmaster Hall did everything possible to make them comfortable. The 
visiting G. A. R. posts were well cared for at the rooms of the local post, 
where the wives of the Batavia (t. A. R. men furnished refreshments. The 
visiting soldiers were quartered at the Ct)urt house, where they were made at 
home. 

{Roc /tester Dciiioerat aiui Clironiele.) 

Luncheon was ready for the Cabinet part}' when the members returned 
from the Land Office. The lunch was served in the corridors at the Rich- 
mond at I o'clock. There were many distinguished guests who partook of 
luncheon with the nation's officials. Among them were Robert Morris, of 
Pottsville, Pa. ; S. Fisher Morris, of Eckman, West Virginia; and Mrs. Mor- 
ris, who is a descendent of the family of George Washington ; Mr. and Mrs. 
John B. Church, of Geneva; the Hon. William Pool, editor of the Niagara 
Falls Courier ; H. A. Dudley, editor of the Western New Yorker, of Warsaw ; 
the Hon. A. G. Dow and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. M. Dow, of James- 
town; William C. Brant, John Otto and Miss Otto, descendants ot Jacob S. 
Otto, the second agent of the Holland Land Company; Mrs. Ellen Stone, Mrs. 
M. a\. Chase, Dr. Joseph C. Greene, Mrs. Greene and Miss Greene, Thomas 
Cary and Miss Love of Buffalo; ex-Senator James H. Loomis, of Attica, and 
thirty or forty others. The following members of the reception committee 
were also present: 1). W. Tomlinson, Myron H. Peck. Jr., J. H. Bradish, 
J. H. Ward, A. E. Clark, A. T. Miller, J. j'. Washburn. C W. Hough, Hon. 
John M McKenzie, and the following ladies, members of the reception com- 
mittee: Mrs. "William C. Watson, Mrs. Joseph F. Hall, Mrs. G. S. Griswold, 
Mrs. Hinman Holden and Mrs. George H. Holden. 

{Buffalo Express.) 

No better place could be imagined for a gathering like that of the after- 
noon than the beautiful State Park, the grounds surrounding the State Insti- 
tution for the Blind. Here, on the broad and spacious lawn fronting the In- 
stitution, the speaker's platform had been erected. Two o'clock was the hour 



set for the main exercises of the day. By some mistake the sun was shiniiiiV 
brightly, and people took heart and flocked to the park until there were 10,000 
of them there. And 10,000 people area good many in a town the size of Batavia. 
The young and the old, the fat and the lean, the townsman and the farmer 
—all were there. The executive officers of the land were to be there, and it 
isn't every day in the week that the populace has the opportunity to do honor 
to its servants. So everybody turned out. The gentlemen of the Washing- 
ton party were entertained at lunch at the Hotel Richmond and the ladies at 
the home of Mrs. D. W. Tomlinson, so it was not until a quarter of 3 o'clock 
that the exercises began. At 2.20 the ladies drove up and everybody applaud^ 
ed. Then, headed by the 65th Regiment Band and the men of that command, 
the Cabinet officers and members of the various committees arrived. They, 
too, were applauded. 

And the clouds were gathering. 

C^ne of the interesting features of this time was the presentation of old 




NKW YORK S'lAl'E liNSllTUTKlN !•■( IR rHK l!|.IM). 



Leancler Mix, whose picture is printed in this paper, to the Cabinet officers. 
Mr. Mix was one of the early agents for the Holland Land Company. 

A selection, played by the 65th Regiment Band in superb style, opened 
the exercises. A chorus of 100 voices, under the direction of Prof. Crane, 
sang " My Country "Tis of Thee " admirably. 

And a few rain drops fell. 

Evidently the weather man had been fooling everybody. But it was too 
late now to repent. The exercises must go on, rain or no rain. Prayer was 
offered by the Rt. Rev. A. Cleveland Coxe, Bishop of Western New York. 

The reading of the dedication poem written by Prof. John H. Yates, 



— 86— 

which is printed in full in the Express, was omitted, as were several musical 
selections. 

Dr. J. W. Le Seur hastened to introduce Secretary Carlisle. He said: 
Our honored guests and fellow citizens — The possibilities of yesterdaj' 
have become the certainties of to-day. We meet to do justice to one who 
loved his country and counted no sacrifice too great to save her honor. It is 
especially gratifying to this society, and to every patriotic citizen that, amid 
the multiplied responsibilities of his official station, the worthy successor of 
the immortal Morris consents to pay tribute to his high character and noble 
services. I have the distinguished honor and special pleasure of introducing 
to you the orator of the day, the Secretary of the Treasury of our United 
States, the Hon. John Griffin Carlisle. 

Secretary Carlisle put on a bold front and took off his high hat and his 
overcoat. He had been talking too long in public to mind a little thing like 
rainwater. He speaks easily, slowly, strongly, and impressively. 



{Batavia Daily News.) 

The singing of the chorus of a hundred voices was much enjoyed and 
showed careful training on the part of Professor E. F. Crane and ready re- 
ception of instruction on the part of the participants. Their selections were 
appreciatively i-eceived. 

The chorus was made up as follows: 

Sopranos — Mrs. E. K. Calkins, Mrs. I. E. Mecorney, Mrs. W. R. Durfee, 
Mrs. Fred H. Fargo, Mrs. P. Welch, Mrs. Charles Scott, Mrs. Sarah Peck, 
Mrs. C. B. Peck, Mrs. Bessie Carpenter, Mrs. Kate Crosby, Mrs. Lounsbury, 
Mrs. B. H. Bean, Mrs. Preston Case, Mrs. George Crofoot, Mrs. Lord, and 
Misses Ella Hirsch, Ida Kellar, Miriam Kellar, Emily Carr, Mary A. Lewis, 
E. Alice Smith, Edna King, Bessie Kellar, Emily Hartshorn, Gracia Morse, 
Minnie Ingersol, Frankie Ingersol, Cornelia Brownell, Rachael McNab, Mer- 
tie McNab, Lizzie Shepard, Ada Mockford, E. Maud Baker, Edith M. Knapp, 
Mertie Knapp, Grace Perkins, Lillian Hatch, Jessie Wallace, Cora J. Gardner, 
Alice Parmelee, Ora Rapp, Mary Poultridge, Mary Maltby, Ruth Benjamin, 
H. A. Langdon, Adelle Clark, Eva Milward, E. F. Wood, Nellie Day, 

Altos — Mrs. W. C. Gardiner, Mrs. E. E. Leavenworth, Mrs. F. A. Lewis, 
Misses Clara Mills, Lottie Rogers, Mary Milward, Helen M. Iveson, Cora W. 
Palmer, Gertrude Cardus, Bertha L. Johnson, Agnes C. Rimnier, Hattie 
Htirtsliorn, Jean Brownell, Louise H. Morse, Nellie McNair, Blanche Lewis, 
Fannie Stanley. 

Bassos — Henry Chiswell, Matthew Robinson, William Mills, E. H. Perry, 
William C. Gardiner, C. A. Snell, the Rev. Thomas Cardus, Lucius A. Par- 
melee, John C. Squires, Fred H. Fargo, E. E. Leavenworth, George W. 
Pratt, Myron A. Pratt, Myron A. Williams, W. H. Kearns, John Skehan, 
Harry C. Norton, Thomas Trick, Wilbur Trick. 

Tenors — J. T. Whitcomb, Frank E. Howe, Clarence Meserve, George 
Mower, A. H. Plock. S. P. Stephens, E. I. Nott, Edward (ramble, Charles B. 
Peck, F. C. Chadwick, F. A. Lewis. 



{Progressive Bataznan.) 

The platform was packed and there was a, crowd of from 5,000 to 10,000 
awaiting the speaker and distinguished guests when they arrived on the 
ground. The exercises opened with a selection by the 65th Regiment Band. 
The chorus of 100 voices followed with "Zion Awake." Chairman Le Seur 
then announced prayer by Rt. Rev. Bishop Coxe, who made these prefatory 
remarks : 

" By a coincidence truly noteworthy, we have heard this week of the 
death of the last chieftain of the Iroquois ; of General Parker, who shared the 
blood of Red Jacket, and who nobly united in himself the citizenship and 
soldiership of this Republic and that of the ancient race to whom these pleas- 
ant lands and lakes originally belonged. The last of the Senecas has just 
expired, and we are here to celebrate the life and character of him who is the 
true founder and father of Western New York, rearing a new society upon the 
graves of the Iroquois. I shall thei-efore make no apology for uniting in the 
memorial prayers which I have been called to offer some reference to the older 
race of whom the "Indian Summer" will annually remind us, and our chil- 
dren's children after us, while these autumn leaves falling around us may 
well recall the red men of the forest, whose blood seems to crimson the turf 
under our feet in the hues of scattered foliage which strews the ground. Let 
us pray." 

The prayer which followed was very feeling and appropriate. 

{Buffalo Courier.) 

At 2 30 p. m. the State Park began to show signs of life and an hour later 
the meeting was called to order. When this had been dismissed the public 
formalities were over, save for the semi-private reception to the members of 
the Cabinet held at the Hotel Richmond at 4.30 p. m. 

The crowd began to disperse about five o'clock, the Buffalo militia taking 
a .special train for home at that hour. From then on the departures were many 
and frequent. The Cabinet party departed at eight o'clock over the Lehigh 
and went to Niagara Falls, where they will remain until this evening before 
retracing its steps to Washington. 

Ample accommodations were provided for all, and the people of Batavia 
did themselves proud in providing for their guests. Mrs. Tomlinson of East 
Main street entertained the ladies of the Cabinet party at luncheon, and the 
ladies of St. James Episcopal Church saw to it that the Buffalo and Rochester 
soldiers did not lack for food. 

Of all the entertainers Alert Hose Companj' No. i was at least the peer. 
This organization, desirous of adding its mite to the general time of rejoicing, 
took upon itself the tax of entertaining the representatives of the press. The 
parlors on West Main street were open from early morning till late at night, 
and food and drink and smoke were pressed upon every one entitled to enter 
the portals. The press of Western New York extends its thanks for many 
courtesies received from Alert Hose Company No. i of Batavia. 

The decorations in general were good. Almost «very place of business in 
the city was trimmed with flags, streamers, aryi bunting, and even the head- 
stalls of the horses on the streets bore the National flag. Souvenir badges 



were as many as the dead leaves blown from the trees, and the person without 
a.t least one badge was the exception. All in all it was a great day, not 
greater than the occasion deserved, but still it was the greatest daj- Batavia 
ever saw. 

{Buffalo Courier.) 

The exercises at the park were scheduled to begin at 2 p. m. A large 
stand had been erected seating about 300 persons. About noon the rainstorm 
cleared and the sunshine somewhat drove away the gloomy aspect of the cele- 
bration. It had been decided, in case the rainfall continued, to hold the exer- 
cises in the Opera House. A crowd of about 7,000 persons assembled 
in the Park, and there were many seats vacant, hundreds of peo- 
ple preferring to stand. It was nearly 3 o'clock when the distin- 




ON THE LINE OF MARCH — EAST MAIN ST.— IN FRONT OF THE TOMLINSON RESIDENCE. 



guished guests and their ladies arrived at the Park escorted by the company 
of the 65th Regiment As each Secretary was recognized by the people he 
was applauded enthusiastically. To the orator of the day was given a very 
warm welcome, and that to Postmaster-General Bissell was most cordial. 
Representatives were on the stand from the various societies, including a large 
number of the best known and most representative citizens of Buflfalo and 
Western New York. 

Among those who were introduced to the secretaries and the Postmaster- 
General was Leander Mix, an aged citizen of Batavia, wh(j formerly was an 
agent for the Holland Land Com pan j\ 



-8q- 

The assemblage was called to order by Chairman Le Seur of the General 
Committee who, after a selection by the 65th Regiment Band, and the singing- 
by a chorus of 'p chberg's " To Thee, O Country," introduced the Right Rev. 
A. Cleveland Coxe, who offered an appropriate prayer. The chorus sang, 
"Zion, Awake! " 

Secretary Carlisle was then introduced. A demonstrative and heartily 
cordial welcome was given to him as he stepped to the front of the platform. 
He had spoken about five minutes when rain began to fall. The rainfall rap- 
idly grew heavier and umbrellas went up. The Secretary had delivered about 
half of his oration when the storm becam.e so severe that he was forced to 
cut olT his address abruptly and the crowd dispersed. 

{Rochester Democrat and Chronicle.) 

At the State Park at 2:30 o'clock in the afternoon a concourse of people 
which is variously estimated all the way from 10,000 to 15.000, awaited patient- 
ly the arrival of the Washington party. Soon the procession, headed by the 
Sixty-fifth Regiment band of Buffalo, proceeded up Elliott avenue, and the 
honored guests and their wives and daughters, accompanied by the reception 
committee, proceeded to the platform, upon which were already seated fully 
500 people, including about one hundred representatives of the press. 

The ladies of the Washington party were assigned seats near the speakers 
stand. As each cabinet officer appeared upon the speakers' platform, he was 
gre.-ted with applause. After the excellent selections had been rendered by 
the Sixty-fifth Regiment band, the chorus of 100 voices sang "To Thee, O 
Country." 

Chairman Le Seur then introduced the Right Rev. Arth n- Cleveland 
Coxe, Episcopal Bishop of Western New York, who offered prayer. The 
prayer lasted about ten minutes, at the conclusion of which " Zion, Awake!" 
was sung by the chorus. 

The reading of the poem and further music, which was on thi programme, 
had to be dispensed with, as all realized even then that a mis'.ace had been 
made in not reversing the programme in order that Mr. Carlisle might get 
through with his speech before the rain again drove the people to shelter. It 
was evident to all that the ominous clouds which came rolling up rapidly from 
the west meant mischief, nor was this a mistaken impression. It was about 3 
o'clock when Chairman J. W. Le Seur stepped to the front of the speakers' 
stand. 

{New York Sun.) 

Tribute to Robert Morris. Dedication of the old Holland Land Office "in 
Batavia. Secretary Carlisle recalls the History of the man to whom, he said, 
the people were indebted more than to any other man in civil station for the 
successful termination of the Revolutionary war. All that he had he conse- 
crated to his country and never hesitated to use his personal credit to pro- 
mote its success. The history of the Holland patriot. 

The morning of the day set apart for the dedication of the Old Holland Of- 
fice building broke dark and threatening, but the gloomy outlook did not prevent 
the assembling of the largest gathering this village has ever witnessed. The 
normal population of 9,000 was by the influx of visitors from various sections 



gb— 

of Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Niagara, Erie, and Orleans counties swell- 
ed to twice that number. Every train that came rolling in over the half dozen 
railroads that pass through or have their terminus here brought filled coauhes. 
Among the delegations was a band of Tuscarora Indians, too in number, 
dressed in native costume. 

Promptly on time the Lehigh train, bearing the members of the Cabinet 
and others from Washington, rolled into the depot. The distinguished visi- 
tors were welcomed by a reception committee and escorted to the Richmond 
Hotel. The party was made up of Secretary Gresham, Secretary and Mrs. 
Carlisle, Secretary and Mrs. Lamont, Secretary Herbert and daughter. Secre- 
tary Smith, Assistant Postmaster-General Jones, and Fourth Assistant I'ost- 
master-General Maxwell. Postmaster-General and Mrs. Bissell arrived from 
Buffalo on a morning train, and joined the party at the hotel, where a recep- 
tion was held. 

Following the reception the distinguished visitors were driven to a stand 
in front of the Land Office, from which they reviewed a parade of civic and 
military organizations. Then the unveiling of the tablet took place, followed 
by a prayer by Bishop Ryan. The tablet is of marble, 2 by 4 feet in size, and 
contains the inscription: 

ERECTEI) 18 — 

DEDIC.VIED 1894. 

TO I HE MEMORY OF 

ROBERT MORRIS. 

The exact year is left blank because it is found impossible to determine in 
what year the building was completed. At the conclusion of the ceremony of 
unveiling the tablet the visitors were entertained at luncheon, the ladies by 
Mrs. D. W. Tomlinson at her residence, and the gentlemen at the Hotel 
Richmond. After luncheon the ladies were driven to the State Park, where, 
with the Cabinet officers, they occupied seats on the stand. 

The weather had cleared, and the sun was shining brightly. The exer- 
cises at this point began promptl}^ at 2 o'clock with selections by the Sixty- 
fifth Regiment band of Buffalo. " To thee. O Country " was then sung by a 
chorus of one hundred voices, and Bishop Coxe followed with prayer. The 
song of " Zion Awake" was next sung, and was followed by the reading of 
the dedication poem by John H. Yates, the author. The chorus sang " O, 
Columbia, Columbia, Beloved" Secretary Carlisle then delivered his address. 
He said; 

{Honorable John G. Carlisle.) 

Robert Morris, or, as he was sometimes called, Robert Morris, Jr., was 
for many years one of the conspicuous figures in the galaxy of great men 
whose statesmanship and courage achieved the independence of the Ameri- 
can colonies, and to him more than to any other man in a civil station, the 
people were indebted for the successful termination of the Revolutionary 
war. 

It is characteristic of the martial race to which we belong to appreciate 
to the fullest extent, and frequently to overestimate, the services of the sue- 



cessful soldier, while simple justice is not always done to the quiet states' 
man and financier, without whose co-operation and support the armies of the 
g'reatest commander could neither make a movement nor fight a battle. 
The most ordinary military operations are more dramatic, and therefore 
more attractive to the common mind, than the patient and laborious achieve- 
ments of the civilian, but they cannot be conducted without money or credit, 
and the man who contributes these essential elements to the agaressive force 
of a nation has at least as strong a claim to the admiration and gratitude of 




Hon. John G. Carlisle. 

his countrymen as the man who plans campaigns and directs the movements 
of armies and fleets. So long as the people of the United States hold in 
grateful remembrance the names and deeds of Washington and his brave 
associates in arms, they ought not to forget the services of the merchant- 
financier who, at a most critical period in their history, substantially created 
and sustained the credit without which the most heroic efforts of these pa- 
triotic soldiers would have been unavailing; and yet, although a century has 
elapsed since Robert Morris finished his public work and retired to private 



-g2— 

life, and nearly ninety years have passed since his death, there is no public 
memorial to attest the people's appreciation of his great services, and very 
few even know the place of his burial. Nearly seventy years ago his earliest 
biographer concluded a sketch of his life in these words : 

" The memor}^ of a man of such distinguished utility cannot be lost ; and 
while the recollection of his multiplied services are deeply engraven on the 
tablet of our hearts, let us hope that the day is not distant when some public 
monument, recording the most momentous occurrences of his life, and char- 
acteristic of national feeling and gratitude, may mark the spot where rest 
the remains of Robert Morris." 

Monuments of bronze and marble have been erected in every part of the 
land to perpetuate the fame of the men who were associated with him during 
the war and afterwards, so that even their forms and faces are almost as 
familiar to us as the forms and faces of our nearest friends, but this ht)pe of 
his early biographer has not been realized. In nearly every park and public 
place in our great centers of population there stands the figure ol some hero 
or statesman of the revolutionary period, and in nearly every household 
there hangs a picture co nmemorative of the person or the services of some 
prominent actor in the troublous times which preceded the establishment of 
our independence ; but neither the figure nor the portrait of Robert Morris 
is among them. 

It is alike creditable to the patriiitibui and the liberality of the citizens of 
Western New York that they have organized the first public association and 
inaugurated the first practical movement for the purpose of paying a lon<^- 
deterred tribute to the memory of a man who, notwithstanding all the malig- 
nant accusations made against him while in the public service, has left a 
record in which the critical researches of a hundred years have failed to 
discover a trace of dishonor or any lack of unselfish devotion to the true in- 
terests of his countrymen. I esteem it a great privilege to be with you in 
person upon this occasion and to have my name connected with yours in 
this patriotic movement ; and especially do 1 consider it a great honor to be 
invited to say something concerning the life and services of the first .Secre- 
tary of the I'reasury, or, as he was then called, the Superintendent of Finance. 
While the proprieties and, in fact, the nacessities of the occasion forbid elab- 
oration of statement, or even a simple recital of all the public acts of Robert 
Morris, it will still be possible, 1 hope, without trespassing too long upon 
your patience, to present at least such an account of their character and 
value as will fully justify this spontaneous effort on your part to honor his 
memory, not only as an able and patriotic public oiificial at a time of great 
peril and distress, but as a private citizen, personally associated in his latter 
years with the local history and early development of this and the adjacent 
country. 

Robert Morris was born at Liverpool, England, on the 31st day of Jan- 
uary, 1734, new style, and, according to a statement in his fathei's will, came 
to America in the year 1748. His father, also named Robert, was a native 
of the same place, and is said to have been originally a nail maker, but af- 
terwards became a merchant. Precisely when he came to America is not 
known, but at the age of 30 he became a resident of Talbot county, Mary- 



—93— 

land, on the eastern shore of Chesapeake bay, where he continued to reside 
until 1750, when he was accidentally killed by the discharg-e of a cannon, 
which was tired in his honor as he was leaving a ship on which he had o^one 
to attend a social entertainment. Tn this will, which is dated April 17, 1749, 
after makings some bequests to other persons, the testator says : 

" I o-ive all my lands and tenements whatsoev^er whereof I shail die 
siezed in possession, reversion or remainder, to a youth now living with my 
friend, Robert Greenway, in Philadelphia, known there by the name of 
Robert Morris, Jr., who arrived at Philadelphia from Liverpool some time 
in the year 1748 ; and to him the said Robert Morris, fr., now living with 
Mr. Robert Greenway merchant, at Philadelphia, I give and bequeath all 
the lands and tenements I shall die possessed of forever : and I likewise give 




IN FRONT OF THE SPEAKER'S STAND. 

to the said Robert Morris, Jr., all the rest and residue of my goods, chattels, 
merchandise, apparel and personal estate whatsoever." 

At the time of his father's death Robert Morris was about 16 years old, 
and was employed in the mercantile house of the Willings, who were at 
that time perhaps the largest merchants in Philadelphia. He remained with 
them until 1754, when he and Thomas Willing, a young member of the fam- 
ily, formed a partnership, which continued without interruption for nearly 
forty years. Although an Englishman by birth, he promptly identified him- 
self with the friends of the colonies in the controversy between them and his 
mother country, and in 1765. ten years before the battle of Le.\ington he 
signed the non-important agreement and was a member of the committee of 
citizens which waited upon the collector of the stamp tax to compel him to 
vacate his office, which he did after considering the matter for two or three 



—94 — 

days. In 1766 he was warden of the port of Philadelphia, and in 1775, when 
the quarrel between the colonies and Great Britain had almost reached the 
p )int where reconciliation upon any reasonable terms was impossible, he was 
appointed on the council of safety for the state of Pennsylvania In October 
of the same year he was elected a member of the provincial assembly under 
the old charter, and in November the assembly appointed him one of the del- 
egates to the Continental Congress. The next year, 1776. he was again 
elected to the assembly under the new Constitution of the State, the old 
charter and the old assembly having been abolished by a mass meeting and 
a revolutionary committee. On the 20th day of July, 1776, he was again 
chosen as a delegate to the Continental Congress, although he was known 
to be opposed to the Declaration of Independence and had voted against it, 
believing with many other good and patriotic men of that period, that the 
opportunity for reconciliation upon terms which would preserve the liberties 
of the people had not yet entirely passed, and that an effort to effect an ad- 
justment ought to be made before engagmg in a war which wa^- certain to 
entail great hardship, and which was not certain to be successful. In a let- 
ter written on the day of bis second appointment to the Continental Congress, 
he defined his position upon this subject, and, in vindication of his patriotism 
and fidelitv to the cause of his country, I think a very brief extract from it 
ought to be read, lie s lid: 

" 1 have uniformly voted ag,nnst and opposed the D claration of Inde- 
pendence, because in my poor opinion it was an improper time, and will 
neither promote the interests nor redound to the honor of America; for it has 
caused division when we wanted union, and will be ascribed to very different 
principles than th )se which ou^rht to give rise to such an important measure. 
I did expect my conduct on tiiis gre it question woul 1 have procured my dis- 
mission from the great council, but find myself disappointed, for the conven- 
tion has thought proper to return me in the new delegation ; and although 
my interests and inclination prompt me to decline the service, yet 1 cannot 
depart from one point, which first induced me to enter the public line. I 
mean an opinion that it is the duty of every individual to act his part in what- 
soever station his country may call him to in times of difficulty, danger and 
distress. Whilst I think this a duty, 1 must submit, although the councils of 
America have taken a different course from my judgment and wishes. I 
think that the individual who declines the service of his country because its 
councils are not conformable to his ideas makes a bad subject. A good one 
will follow if he cannot lead 

In February or March, 1777, he was for the third time appointed a dele- 
gate to the Continental Congress. An attempt even to enumerate the 
various services rendered by him during his terms as a member of that body 
would compel me to omit many other important matters connected with his 
subsequent career, or extend this address to an unreasonable length It is 
sufficient to say that from the beginning he was placed upon some of the 
m3st important committees, and was almost constantly called upon to assist 
in the conduct of financial affairs, not only by his advice and counsel, but by 
the use of his name and personal credit. 

At that time there was no treasury department, nor any national execu- 
tive organization of any kind. Early in 1779 the Continental Congress had 



— P5— 

appointed a standing committee, of which James Duane was chairman, tu 
superintend the finances but its functions were not well defined, and its 
duties, so far as it had any, were loosely and negligently discharged. By 
September, 1778, financial affairs had fallen into such a condition of confu- 
sion and disorder that Congress established five separate bureaus to assist in 
the management of the Treasury : but these bureaus quarreled with each 
other, and in ijj.) an ordinance was passed establishing what was designa- 
ted as a Board of Treasury, consisting of three commissioners, not members 
of Congress, any three of whom had power to transact business. By the 
spring of 1780, however, it became evident that the entire financial system 
must be reorganized upon a more substantial basis, and that there must be 
such practical management as wjuld secure order in the public accounts 




NEAR THE SPEAKER S STAND. 

and some degree of economy in the public service, or the war would prove 
a disastrous failure and the colonies relapse into a more hopeless condition 
of dependency than ever existed before. Almost every financial expedient 
that the ingenuity of man could devise, except regular and effective taxation, 
had been resorted to for nearly six years to raise money or procure credit 
for the prosecution of war, and at last the very verge of national bankruptcy 
had been reached, and it was evidently impossible to proceed a step farther 
in the same direction without a total collapse of the entire financial system, 
involving, of course, an abandonment of the struggle. The country was 
smothered to death uniar a ni iss of worthless paper currency far more dis- 
a5trjis tj thi coin nircial and industrial interests of the people than all the. 



— g6- - 

spoliations and devastations committed by the invadinf,"- enemy. The most 
discreditable chapters of our history are those which record the repeated and 
ineffectual efforts of the Continental Congress and the Superintendent of 
Finance, after he was chosen, to induce the States to raise their respective 
quotas of money necessary to carry on a war for the establi hinent of their 
own independence. The prevailing idea among the people sce.iis to be that, 
inasmuch as the war was being prosecuted in opposition to the claim of Great 
Britain to impose taxes upon them, it would be illogical and inconsistent to 
impose taxes upon themselves. They preferred to rely upon continental 
notes, issued in anticipation of receipts which never came in, and upon bills 
of credit emitted by the States, which persistently refused to provide funds 
for their redemption. The several colonies had been in the habit, long be- 
fore the Revolution, of issuing their own notes to circulate as money, and, 
therefore, the Continental Congress very naturally resorted to the same ex- 
pedient, and the tirst notes, amounting to about th.-oe million dollars, were is- 
sued as early as 1775. These notes began to depreciate almost immediately, 
and before the close of the year 1776 many men were subjected to mob vio- 
lence, to .social and political ostracism and to imprisonment by the civil and 
military authorities for refusing to receive them in ])ayment of debts, or in 
exchange for commodities. By 1779 depreciation had gone to such an extent 
that It was no longer safe to buy and sell in the ordinary way, while tran.sac- 
tions conducted ujion credit were ruinous to the partv who rendered services 
or parted with his propei ty. Barter was the only safe trade, and it is record- 
ed that at one time it was sul^stantially the only kind of trade earned on in 
the city of Boston. Prices went up so that a pair of .shoes cost $100, and flour 
sold at prices ranging from $400 to $300 per hundred weight. The price of 
sugar reached $6co jier hundr?! weight; coffee war^ $4 per pound, and w^heat 
$75 per bushel, and the cost of most articles of necessity rose in the same pro- 
portion. Genera^ Washington said that a wagon load of money would scarce- 
ly buy a wagon load of provisions. But the currency in w-hich payments were 
made was deprei iatiug with such rapidity that the merchant who sold even at 
these exorbitant prices was constantly losing monev. The injurious effect of 
a deprecieting currency upon the trade of the country is illustrated in the case 
ot a writer of that period, who says that he purchased a hogshead of sugar 
and sold it at a large profit, but the currency in which he was paid would buy 
onl}^ a tierce. He then s )li the tierce at a large profit, but when he used the 
proceeds of this sale in making another purchase he got only a barrel. R. H. 
Lee wrote to Thomas Jefferson that the depreciation of money had nearly 
transferred his whole estate to his tenants, and that the rent of 4,000 acres of 
land would not pay for twenty bushels of corn, the rent, of course, being pay- 
able in money and having been fi.xed before the depreciation begun. 

Conventions were held in many parts of the country to establish scales of 
prices at which commodities should be bought and sold, and several States 
enacted penal laws upon the subject. Many merchants and others were pun- 
ished by imprisonment and by exposure in the pillory for violations of these 
statutes and necessarily much ill-feeling was engendered among the people. 
The whole commercial fabric was in imminent danger of destruction on ac- 
count of the superabundance of so-called mone}', and the government itself, 
which possessed unlimited power to issue it, was compelled to retrace its steps 



• <P1- 

of be crushed under the weight of its own paper. I cannot undertake to de- 
scribe the state of public and private demoralization which this condition of 
the currency produced. Extravagance, speculation, fraud and selfishness 
prevailed everywhere to an extent never known in this country before or 
since. It was the harvest-tiine of the dishonest public official, the unscrupu- 
lous debtor and the unfaithful trustee of private estates. The widow and or- 
phan and the poor and dependent classes in all the walks of life were, as they 
always have been and always will be, the principal sufferers from every fluc- 
tuation in the exchangeable value of the currency. The rich and powerful 
can generally take care of their own pecuniary interests, no matter what kind 
of currency may be in use, but the poor, who are compelled to labor for the 
necessaries of life and to receive whatever is offered them in compensation, 
and the ignorant, who are always exposed to the seductive devices of thespec- 




THE BACKGROUND OF THE SPEAKER'S STAND— AWAY TO THE " 15LUE DOMES OF 

WYOMING'S HILLS." 



ulator and the swindler, constitute the classes upon which the evil ctTects of a 
vitiated currency invariably fall "with the heaviest weight. 

At this time continental notes had been issued to the amount of $160,000, - 

000, or about $53 per capita, and the depreciation was 30 to i, that is $1 in 
specie was equal to $30 in the paper currancy. By July, 1780, it was 64.12 to 

1, and early m the next year the whole miserable system broke comoletely 
down, and Congress, with only one dissenting vote, resolved that all debts 
then due from the United States, Avhich had been liquidated according to their 
value, and all debts which had been, or should thereafter be made payable in 



-98- 

specie, should be actually paid in specie, or its equivalent, at the current rate 
of exchange between specie and other currency. The total issue of Continen- 
tal notes up to that date, as nearly as can be ascertained, was about $242,000,- 
000, or $80 per capita. But, besides this, the various States had issued large 
amounts in bills of credit, and there were outstanding large amounts of loan 
office certificates and quartermasters' and commissaries' certificates, which 
greatly aggravated the financial situation. It is said that in 1788 a single 
Spanish dollar would legally discharge a debt of $2,400 in the State of Vir- 
ginia. The resolution of Congress \vas absolutely necessary in order to save 
even the semblance of public credit, and, although the Continental notes con- 
tinued for a short time to circulate in some parts of the country, especiallj^ in 
the South, they passed for merely a fraction of their nominal value. It was 
evident to every one at all acquainted with public affairs that the finances of 
the country must at once be placed in more competent hands and conducted 
with more vigor and economy than had heretofore characterized their man- 
agement, or that the war for independence would be brought to a speedy ter- 
mination by the complete subjugation of the colonies. The opinion was quite 
prevalent, both in America and Europe, that the struggle could be maintain- 
ed but a little while longer, and even General Washington had almost aban- 
doned all hope of success. George the III and his ministers relied for success 
more upon the depressed financial condition of the United States than upon 
the aggressive operations of their army and navy. This was the condition of 
affairs when Congress, on the 20th day of February, 1781, unanimously chose 
Robert Morris to be Superintendent of Finance. His great ability and credit 
as a merchant, his intimate acquaintance with public matters generally, and 
especially his familiarity with the financial operations which had reduced the 
government to such a deplorable state of poverty and helplessness, constituted 
qualifications for this laborious and responsible position possessed by no other 
man in the country. The selection at once revived the hopes of the despon- 
dent, stimulated the courage of the wavering, and confirmed the faith of the 
friends of liberty in every part of the world. But he did not accept at once. 
He knew the magnitude of the task -he was expected to perform, and he knew 
it could not be accomplished unless he was afforded opportunities and invest- 
ed with powers commensurate with the nature of the duties imposed upon 
him. He therefore wrote a letter to the President of Congress, in which he 
made the acceptance of the office dependent iipon two conditions, first, that 
he should not be required to abandon his commercial pursuits or dissolve his 
existing connections with certain mercantile establishments, and secondly, 
that he should have the absolute power to appoint and remove all officials 
serving under him. Upon this point he was very emphatic. He said: 

" I also think it indispensably necessary that the appointment of all offi- 
cers who are to act in my office under the same roof or in immediate connec- 
tion with me should be made by myself, Congress first agreeing that such 
secretaries, clerks, or officers so to be appointed are necessary, and fixing the 
salaries of each. I conceive that it would be impossible to execute the duties 
of this office with effect unless the absolute power of dismissing from office or 
employment all persons whatever that are concerned in the official expendi- 
tures of public moneys be committed to the Superintendent of Finance, for 
unless this power can be exercised without control, I have little hope of effi- 



'99— 

cacy in the business of reformation, which is probably the most essential part 

of the duty." 

Congrees having, after some hesitation, conformed to the wishes of Mor- 
ris in respect to these two matters, he accepted the office on the 14th day of 
May, 1781, buthe did not enter fully upon the discharge of his duties until 
October following. In June, 1781, before he had taken charge of his office, he 
secured the repeal of the embargo law, believing, to use his own language, 
that " commerce should be perfectly free and property sacredly secured to the 
owner." He applied himself with zeal and determination to the difficult task 
imposed upon him, and the result of his labors soon began to be felt in all 
the affairs of the government at home and abroad, and in all the business 
transactions of the people. The extent and variety of the powers vested in 
him, and the number and character of the various kinds of business tran- 
sacted by him on the public account, have no parallel in the history of any 
other financial officer in the world. He was, in fact, the autocrat of finances. 





■■ '^u. 



,<^' 



l 



} 






speaker's stand from the tower of the institution for the blind. 

He engaged in a great number of mercantile enterprises on account of the 
government, buying and selling goods here and in other countries, and using 
the proceeds in the public service. Congress had declared that the obliga- 
tions of the government should be paid in specie, or its equivalent, but the 
government had no specie and no visible means of procuring it. It is true 
that considerable specie, or hard monev as it was then called, had been 
brought into the country and disbursed by the British and French armies, 
but it had not reached the treasury. The worthless paper currency was now 



—lOO— 

rapidly disappearing from the circulation, and Morris took measures to ob- 
tain a supply of specie from Havana and other places, which he accomplish- 
ed to a very considerable extent by buying and selling goods. In a short 
time the people began to realize the benefits of that inflexible law of trade and 
finance under which sound money in sufficient quantities to transact all the 
business of the country will always make its appearance to take the place 
of unsound money, if the latter can be got out of circulation. It was not 
long until specie was circulating in all the channels of trade, and from that 
time to the close of the Revolutionary war all the business of the govern- 
ment was conducted upon a specie basis. There was then no American dol- 
lar nor American coin of any denomination. The principal coin in use was 
the Spanish dollar, the Seville piece of eight, and the Mexican piece of 
eight, each of which was rated at 4 shillings 6 pence sterling, and the pillar 
piece, which was rated at 4 shillings, 6 pence, 3 farthings. But the actual 
unit of account in America was an imaginary dollar, supposed to contain 
241^ grains of fine gold. There was, in fact, no such coin, and never has 
been, but this quantity of fine gold was apparently, by common consent, rec- 
ognized as the standard by which the value of the various kinds of currency 
in circulation was measursd, and by which exchange was regulated. 

It would be going too far to assert that Morris ever succeeded in estab- 
lishing the finances of the government upon an entirely firm and satisfactory 
basis, for it must be conceded that many of his plans failed, principally, 
however, on account of delinquencies on the pari of Congress and the States. 
Besides, the mistakes committed before he entered upon his office were of 
such a character, and the injurious consequences so affected the whole sys- 
tem, that it required much time and labor to repair them ; and hence it was 
that financial questions involving taxation, currency, expenditures and 
methods of administration continued to perplex the statesmanship and em- 
barrass the civil and military operations of the government throughout the 
whole period of the war ; and, in fact, they continued to vex the people for 
a long time afterwards. When Morris took office he was confronted by a 
financial and political situation which never before or since confronted the 
chief officer of this or any other government in the world. The Continental 
Congress possessed unlimited power to issue currency, but no power what- 
ever to raise money by taxation for its redemption. It had unlimited power 
to make requisitions upon the States, but no power whatever to compel the 
States to comply with them. It had unlimited power to contract debts, but 
no power whatever to pay them. It had unlimited power to provide for the 
organization of an army and navy, but no power whatever to support them. 
The whole executive and legislative power, so far as it existed at all, was re- 
posed in the Congress. There was no judiciary to interpret its acts, nor any 
executive to enforce them. Its resolutions and statutes were little more than 
mere appeals to the patriotism or generosity of the people, and, however re- 
luctant we may be to admit it, the annals of that period show that they were 
generally made in vain. Taking all things into consideration, the years 1779 
and 1780 were, perhaps, the darkest years of the war. It is not my purpose 
to speak of military operations, although they necessarily had great influ- 
ence upon the financial situation. As in all other wars, victories improved 
the public credit and defeats impaired it ; but, independently of these influ- 



-lOl- 




COMING FROM THE 



TRAINS-CADETS ESCORTING AN ARRIVING DELEGATION, 



^102 — 

ences, the impotency of the central authority and the apathy of the States 
were of themselves sufficient to render the task of the financier as onerous 
and apparently as hopeless as that imposed by the Egyptians upon the Chil- 
dren of Israel. 

Although the treaty of alliance with France had been concluded in 1778, 
and very considerable pecuniary assistance had been received from Aat gov- 
ernment, it was evident to Morris, as it was to every other intelligent sup- 
porter of the revolution, that the people must rely chiefly upon their own 
resources for a successful prosecution of the war ; and he labored assidu- 
ously from the beginning to the close of his administration to convince his 
countrymen that their interest and duty alike demanded the prompt pay- 
ment of all taxes imposed upon them, in order that the public credit might 
be preserved and the public service maintained. His communications to 
Congress upon this subject, his numerous appeals to the governors and legis- 
latures of the States, and his correspondence with his contemporaries show 
how thoroughly he appreciated the necessities of the situation, how sensitive 
he was concerning the honor and credit of the country, and how deeply he 
was offended and humiliated by the failure of the States to furnish money 
and supplies required for the public service. Notwithstanding all his argu- 
ments and appeals, however, the States refused to contribute their full 
quotas, and, according to his own statement, there was received into the 
treasury during the first five months of the year 1782 only the insignificant 
sum of $5,500, which, as he said at the time, was about one-fourth of what 
was necessary to meet the expenditures of a single day. The total amount 
received into the treasury from taxes during the whole of Morris's adminis- 
tration, that is, from February 20, 1781, to November i. 1784, a period of 
about three years and eight months, was $2,025,099, although the average 
annual expenditures during the war. exclusive of the sums expended directly 
by the several states, was about $16,000,000. In April, 17S1, the specie 
value of the public debt was a little over $24,000,000, and, as it was repre- 
sented by various forms of obligations and bore different rates of interest, 
Congress resolved to fund it, if the creditors would consent ; but, as usual, 
nothing resulted from this resolution. 

Morris at once directed his attention to the establishment of a national 
bank as an auxiliary or aid to the government in the conduct of its financial 
affairs, and, after much opposition, he succeeded in securing a charter for 
the Bank of North America, with a capital of $400,000, to be located at Phil- 
adelphia. It was the first bank in America that redeemed its notes in specie 
on presentation, and it undoubtedly afforded great assistance to the govern- 
ment by granting loans from time to time and by effecting exchanges on the 
public account. For a little while the notes of the bank were at a discount, 
but they soon rose to par, and never afterwards depreciated. 

One of the methods adopted by Congress to induce the States to com- 
ply with the requisitions upon them, was to allow them to purchase and fur- 
nish supplies for the use of the army, for which quartermasters and commis- 
saries issued certificates. This system of specific supplies, as it was called, 
afforded almost unlimited opportunities for collusion and fraud, and was, 
from the very nature of the transactions involved and the difficulties of pre- 
serving and transporting the supplies, wasteful and extravagant in the high- 



—lOJ — 

est degree. After a hard struggle, in which, fortunately, he had the support 
of General Washington, Morris succeeded in abolishing this system and 
procuring supplies by contract, which, to use his own language, was "an im- 
mense saving." About the same time he made an ineffectual effort to dis 
continue the practice of issuing loan office certificates, and to procure mon^y 
from France to purchase and cancel all that were outstanding. The unsat- 
isfactory condition of the accounts between tho government and the several 
States was a source of constant annoyance and embarrassment in the ad- 
ministration of his office and a great deal of his time and labor were de- 
voted to the investigation of this subject with a view of securing settlements 
in order that it might be certainly known what each State had actually fur- 
nished and how much each was in arrears. Whenever requisitions were 




HEAD OF THE PARADE CAUGHT IN A STORM. 



made almost every State claimed that it had already furnished more than its 
just quota, as compared with other States, and thus each made the same ex- 
cuse for not furnishing more. While the first and most pressing duty of the 
financier was to provide, so far as he could, by securing taxation and by 
loans and otherwise, for the current expenditures of the government, he ap- 
pears to have had continually in view two other great objects — the settle- 
ments of the accounts with the States and the funding of the public debt — 
neither of which was accomplished. All that any one man could do was 
done, and his failures must be attributed to obstacles which it was impossible 
to overcome in the existing state of public affairs and public opinion. After 
the adoption of the federal constitution, and an effective government had 



— 104 — 

been established, the entire national debt was funded, the State debts being 
also assumed by the United States, and in due time the obligations were 
fully paid and the honor and credit of the country vindicated. 

During the first year of his administration Morris caused to be prepared 
and submitted to Congress a plan for the establishment of a uniform coinage 
throughout the United States. This paper, while it undoubtedly embodied 
the views of Robert Morris, was actually prepared by Gouveneur Morris, 
whose name deserves most honorable mention in every history of the finan- 
cial operations of that period on account of the able and faithful services 
which he rendered to the chief financial officer in nearly all his labors. 
Weights and measures were the same everywhere, but the currency was in 
a state of almost inextricable confusion, and there were nearly as many meth- 
ods of computing the value of the money in circulation as there were States in 
the Confederacy. For instance, 4 shillings in New Hampshire were equal in 
value to 21 shillings and 8 pence \\\ South Carolina, and the vSpanish dollar, 
which, as already stated, was the principal coin in use, was worth in Georgia 
5 shillings, in New York and North Carolinia S shillings, in Virginia and the 
four eastern States 6 shillings, and in all the other States, except South Car >- 
Una, 7 shillings, 6 pence, and in South Carolina 32 shillings, 6 pence. The 
most important object to be attained, therefore, was the establishment of a 
uniform standard by which to estimate the value of all the different kinds of 
foreign coin in circulation, and Morris, after a brief discussion of the subject, 
in wnich he showed a thorough acquamtance with all its details, reached the 
conclusion that the most convenient unit of value would be one-fourth of a 
grain of fine silver, which would be the fourteen-hnn Ireian 1-fortieth part of 
a dollar, as that would agree without a fraction with all the different values 
of a dollar in the several States, except S :)uth Carolina He- did not insist 
that there should be an actual coin of the denomination stated, but simply 
that the fourteenth-hundred-and-fortieth part of a dollar should be the legal 
unit of value and account, and that the decimal ratio shnildbead >pted. The 
next year after this communication was written. Congress took up the subject, 
and, after discussion, referred it to a committee of which Mr. Je.lerson was a 
member. The report of the committee, which was written by Jerferst)n, 
agreed substantially with Morris' recommendations, except to the unit of 
value, which was said to be " too minute for ordinary use, too laborious for 
computation either by the head or in figures." The dollar itself was recom- 
mended as the unit, and the decimal system suggested by Morris was ap- 
proved. Congress agreed to this report, and the accounts of expenditures 
show that some steps were taken towards the establishment of a mint; in fact, 
a few coins, "pattern pieces," as they were called, were actually struck, but 
there is no evidence that any of them went into circulation. Thus, the funda- 
mental principles of our present method of account and monetary unit were 
first presented and explained in the midst of a great war by a man who was 
hourly engrossed with the drudgery of an office which, even in the most or- 
dinary times, leaves but little opportunity for scientific or historical investiga- 
tion ; but he possessed a practical knowledge of commercial and financial af- 
fairs which was worth far more than the most deliberate conclusions of the 
mere theorist and which enabled him to detect, almost at a glance, the weak 
points in the existing system. Honesty, economy, and official responsibility 



—IDS — 

characterized the conduct of his administration to an extent wholly unknown 
to the previous financial operations of the government, and yet it sometimes 
happened that the exigencies of the public service compelled him to resort to 
expedients which would not mset with public favor in ordinary times. It 
must be remembered, however, that he was substantially in his own person 
the treasurv of the United States, and that there were frequent occasions 
when the preservation of the national credit and the maintenance of the pub- 
lic service, civil and military, depended almost entirely i\pon his individual 
capacity to raise money. Many of his operations had to be conducted with 
the utmost secrecy in order to be successful, while others had to be carried on 
by unusual and circuitous methods, which afforded his enemies plausible pre- 
texts for iniiirious criticism, but no charge of malfeasance in office, or improp- 




RICH.MOND .WENUE — WHERE THE PARADE STARTED AND ENDED. 



er use of his opportunities, was ever sustained after impartial investigation. 
All that he had was consecrated to the cause of his country, and he never hes- 
itated to use his means and credit to promote its success. His individual 
notes were issued for the public benefit to the amount of $750,000, and they 
circulated at par when the notes, of the government itself were at a heavy dis- 
count. The Yorktown campaign, the most momentous movementof the war, 
resulting in the surrender of Cornwallis and practically terminating the strug- 
gle, could not have been inaugurated or prosecuted if Morris had not, by his 
personal operations and the liberal use of his own credit, procured money to 
pay the soldiers and provide transportation and subsistence. When peace 
had been declared, an unpaid and discontented army still remained to be pro- 



T06 — 

vided for. It was said at the time that it could neither be kept together nor 
disbanded with safety ; but Morris again came promptly to the relief of the 
country. He succeeded in raising a sufficient amount of specie to pay for one 
month's service, and gave his own notes for three months' pay, due in si.x 
months, and then the world renowned soldiers of the American revolution 
quietly dispersed and returned to their homes, leaving the infant republic to 
begin its career unembarrassed by any fear or threat of internal discord. 

The services of Morris in secunng loans abroad, and in raising money on 
bills drawn upon our envoys in France and Holland, were of mestimable 
value to the country and could not have been so effectively rendered by any 
other man in America. At that time communication between this country 
and Europe was necessarily slow and precarious, even if not interfered with 
by the enemy, but British privateers and vessels of war were patrolling the 
seas in every direction, and consequently the transmission of goods, money or 
bills of exchange was hazardous in the highest degree. Under these circuu- 
stances, in order to raise money to meet pressing emergencies, he was fre- 
quently I'equired to give his personal guarantee for the payment of the bills, 
and this he never refused to do. 

Notwithstanding the prospect of an early peace after the surrender at 
Yorktown, Morris continued to lab;)r diligently for retrenchment in expen- 
ditures and for a strict application of ba:iiness principles in public matters, 
and it was universally agreed that his policy in respect to these subjects con- 
tributed very largely to the increase of confidence at home and the improve- 
ment of the national credit abroad. The instances in which he discontinued 
useless expenditures by dispensing with the services of unnecessary officials, 
by simplifying the methods of collecting and disbursing the public funds, by 
changing the manner of procuring supplies and by a close personal supervision 
of details are too numerous to be mentioned here, especially as this address is 
already too much extended. His determinution to practice the strictest econ- 
omy is shown by the fact that the estimate of expenditures for the year 1784, 
excluding the payment of previous claims and interest on the public debt, was 
only $457,528.33, about one-half of the amount of the present daily receipts of 
the treasury. 

Provisional articles of peace were agreed upon at Paris on the 30th of No- 
vember, 1782, but they were not proclaimed by the Continental Congress until 
April II, 1783. In the meantime, an armistice, providing for a cessation of 
hostilities, was concluded, on the 20th of January, 1783; and finally, a definite 
treaty of peace was entered into, on the 3d of September, 17S3, and proclaim- 
ed January 14, 1784. The war was now over; the freedom, sovereignty and 
independence of each State had been solemnly acknowledged by Great Britain, 
and the young republic was everywhere recognized as a distinct and indepen- 
dent nation. 

Morris had long desired to relinquish his office, and in fact had once ten- 
dered his resignation, but was induced by Congress to reconsider his deter- 
mination and remain. On the first day of November, 1784, his resignation 
was again tendered and was accepted. 

He had found the treasury bankrupt, the national credit prostrated, the 
army naked, hungry and mutinous, the people discontented, the currency 
worthless, trade paralyzed and the struggle for independence daily growing 



— /o/ — 

more feeble and hopeless. He left not a full treasury, it ii4 true, but a nation- 
al credit higher among capitalists abroad than that of some of the oldest na- 
tions of Europe; and he left a happy and triumphant people, with a sound 
currency and prosperous trade, abundant resources and a free government. 
Surely he had a right to claim exemption from turthsr official service ; but his 
time for rest had not yet come. In lySj, at the solicitation of his fellow citi- 
zens, he became a member of the Pennsylvania legislature, and in 1787 he was 
elected a delegate to the great convention which framed the present constitu- 
tion of the United States. When that instrument had been ratified by the 
States, he and William Maclay were chosen the first Senators from Pennsyl- 
vania. Morris drew the long term, and served six years, or until 1795, when 
he retired finally from public life, and thereafter his entire time was devoted 




THE RICHMOND RESIDENCE. 



to his private affairs, which had become seriously involved. He had engaged 
in many large and hazardous speculative enterprises, to which he had not 
given the attention which their character and importance demanded, and the 
consequence was that he found himself in his old age, after a long and honor- 
able career, during which his personal credit had never been impaired, em- 
barrassed with debts, harrassed by lawsuits, and ultimately seized and thrown 
into prison. I will not dwell long upon this part of his life, for it is by no 
means a pleasant theme. When the federal capital had been located on the 
PjtOTia:, Morris a'ld Janss Greanleaf purchasjl from ths C3 n nisiioi3rs six 
thousand lots in the prospective city of Washington, at the price of $480,000, 
and it is said they purchased as many more from other persons. He also ac- 



— io8 - 

quired an interest in the Virginia Yazoo Company, and owned by himself, or 
in conjunction witli others, large tracts of land in Pennsylvania, North Caro- 
lina, South Carolina, Georgia, Kentucky and New York. His several pur- 
chases included many million acres of wild lands, and each transaction ap- 
peared to subject him to additional complications in his affairs. 

By a contract, or treaty, entered into at Hartford on the i6th day of De- 
cember, 1786, between commissioners of the State of New York and the State 
of Massachusetts, the conflicting claims of the two States to certain territory 
west of a line drawn northwardly from the eighty-second milestone on the 
boundary of Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario, except a strip one mile wide the 
length of the Niagara river on its east side, were adjusted, Massachusetts 
ceding to New York full .sovereignity and jurisdiction over the land, and New 
York jnelding to Massachusetts the pre-emption or proprietary right. The 
tract thus described was supposed to contain about six million acres. In 17S8 
the State of Massachusetts sold all the land to Phelps and Gorham, but thev 
failed to pay the whole purchase money and in March. 1791, reconveyed about 
3,750,000 acres to the State. On the 12th day of March, 1791, the State sold 
to Samuel Ogden, who was acting for Robert Morris, all the land, excepting 
one million acres, or thereabouts, which Phelps and Gorham had paid for and 
retained. This purchase embraced all Western New York west of a line 
which corresponds, substimtially, I believe, with the Genesee river, or, in 
other words, nearly all that part of the State west of Rochester. In 1792 and 
1793 Morris sold 3,400,000 acres of this tract to the Holland Land Company, 
but the conveyances were at first made to other parties, probably on account 
of the alienage of the Hollanders. Afterwards, however, conveyances were 
made directly to the individuals composing the companv, of which Wilhelm 
Willink, through whom one of the public loans in Holland had been nego- 
tiated while Morris was Superintendent of the Finances, appears to have been 
the president. After this purchase a colony of Germans, consisting of seventy 
families, was formed at Hamburg and sent over to settle on the land. They 
were furnished with tools and put to work to construct a roal from Northum- 
berland to Genesee, but, having come mainly from cities, they were unaccus- 
tomed to sucli lab :)r and the settlement finally broke up in a riot After this, 
an office was opened by the company and the land was sold and conveyed in 
parcels to suit purchasers until 1839, when its affairs were closed. In 1802 its 
oiffce was removed to Batavia. and in 1804 the building which you are here to- 
day to dedicate to the memory of R')bert Morris, was erected, and for more 
than a third of a century the titles to the homes of *he people who now inhab- 
it the counties of Erie, Chautauqua, Cattaraugus and Niagara, except the In- 
dian reservations, and nearly all the counties of Orleans, Genesee, Wyoming 
and Allegheny were prepared and executed within its walls. Thus it is that 
nearly every home in the western part of the beautiful valley which suggested 
the Indian name of the river that flows through it, is connected with the name 
of Robert Morris, and, though all others may neglect his memory, and even 
forget the name of the great financier of the revolution, his fame will live on 
in this historic region as long as the people love the land on which their chil- 
dren were born and in which their fathers sleep. 

Morris' pecuniary affairs grew rapidly worse from day to day, and finally 
his creditors became so importunate that he was compelled to remain con- 



- -io0— 

'st^ntiy in his Jiome to avoid them. They watched his house, even at nighty 
and Hghted fires on his premises in order that he might be intercepted if he 
attempted to escape. One of them, a Frenchman, went so far as to threaten 
to shoot him if he made his appearance at the window. In January or Feb- 
ruary, lygS, he was committed to a debtors prison, where he remained for 
more than three years and a half. It was his habit, while confined, to walk 
around the prison yard fifty times each day and drop a pebble at the comple- 
tion of each circuit in order to keep the count. Dunng the hardest of his 
misfortunes he never became despondent or uttered a complaint, except to 
express his profound regret that he was unable to discharge his honest obliga- 
tions. He never referred to the great service he had rendered his country, or 
Appealed to the sympathy or charity of the public, but silently submitted to 




OS THK LINE OF MARCH— COURT H )U.SE PARK IN THE ASGLE OF THE INDIAN' TRAILS. 



unjust accusations, to prolonged imprisonment and to the indifference and in- 
gratitude of his countrymen with the heroic fortitude of a great and noble 
mind. 

No period of his long and honorable career better illustrates the stalwart 
and independent character of the man than those closing years of his life. 
He had stood on the very pinnacle of fame and listened to the enthusiastic 
plaudits of his emancipated countrymen and had received even the forced 
homage of their defeated antagonists. He had been the confidential adviser 
and trusted agent of the government when a serious mistake would have 
been fatal to its existence, and had proved his statesmanship and patriotism 
liy the wisdom of his counsels and the cheerful sacrifice of his personal inter- 



— no — 

ests. He had been the bosom friend of Washington and nearly all of the 
great Amerieans whose names have come down to us from the last half of 
the eighteenth century and had been the peer of the greatest among them. 
He had lived in luxury and had at his command all that wealth and political 
influence and official station could procure; but now he was br.)ken in fortune, 
imprisoned for debt, denounced as a reckless speculator, separated from his 
old personal friends and ungenerously neglected by the government and the 
people he had served so long and so well. But he endured it all without a 
murmur, and after his release from prison went uncomplainingly to his dis- 
mantled home, and by the practice of close economy managed to live in a 
to erably comfortable condition, for which he was mainly indebted to the 
Holland Land Company, which paid to Mrs. Morris as long as she lived an 
annuity of $1,500. 

Morris died on the 8th day of May, 1806, in the seventj^ third year of his 
age, and was buried in a little churchyard on Second street in Philadelphia, 
where his remains now rest, with no monument over them except an ordinary 
stone slab. The great c mntry which he helped to rescue from the domina- 
tion of its oppressors has grown rich and powerful under the constitution he 
helped to frame ; the three million people whose liberties he helped to estab 
lish, have multiplied until they largely outnumber the population of the moth- 
er land ; the thirteen feeble States on the shores of the Atlantic, which he 
helped to unite under a compact of perpetual peace and mutual protecti >n, 
have become the progenitors of a mighty sisterhood of prosperous commnn- 
wealths, who.se confines are limited only by their western seas; and still, no 
obelisk rises to tell the story of his great services, his unselfish patriotism, his 
honorable life, and its melancholy close. 

It may be,- however,, that hereafter, somewhere in this broad kmtl f>f 
ours, which he sacrificed so much to make free and prosperous, there will be 
gathered beneath the dome of an American pantheon the remains of all our 
honored dead, and if so, the obscure grave at Philadelphia will give up its 
tenant, and the mausoleum of Robert Morris will become a consecrated shrine 
where generations of freemen will uncover their heads in honor of his memorj^ 
as long as the republic endures. 

{Batavia Daily News.) 

The Cabinet members, during their public reception on the ground floor 
of the Richmond from about 4:30 until 5:30 o'clock, shook hands with over 
1,500 men, women and children. When it was learned that such an event 
was to take place the main corridors of the hotel were immediately filled 
with a surging mass of people and the officers had great difficulty in keep- 
ng even a semblance of order. The crush was something terrible during 
almost the entire hour and it was a wonder that some people were not in- 
jured. 

Secretary Carlisle was introduced by J. Holley Bradish, Secretary Gresh- 
am by Judge North, Secretary Lamont by Arthur E. Clark, General Bissell 
by A. D. Scatcherd, Secretary Herbert by A. T Miller and Secretary Smith 
by Fredd H. Dunham. 

While the Cabinet meinbers were receiving on the ground floor of the 



— Ill 

Richmond their ladies held a public reception for ladies on the first floor. 
They were introduced by D. W. Tomlinson, M. H. Peck, Jr., and J. J. Wash- 
burn. 

The members of the Cabinet, accompanied by General Maxwell and 
Judge North, called upon Mrs. Dean Richmond and Mrs. Kenney after the 
public reception 

About fifty people sat down to the dinner served by Teall of Rochester 
at the Richmond at 6:30 o'clock The Cabinet members and their ladies oc- 
cupied seats at a table placed at one side of the main table and the mem- 
bers of the Morris family at a table on the opposite side. The dinner was 
all that could be desired, and the floral decorations, arranged by Mrs. Hin- 
man Holden's committee, were very fine. 




THE JUNCTION OF THE INDIAN TRAILS. 

Postmaster-General and Mrs. Bissell left Batavia at 7 p. m. on the Le- 
high Valley road for Geneva, Mrs. Bissell's home. The General joined the 
Washington party there last night and proceeded to the capital. 

Secretary and Mrs. Lamont left at 7:20 p. m. on the Central for Buffalo. 

It was 8:15 p. M. when the Cabinet members who had not already de- 
parted, and their ladies. First Assistant Postmaster-General Jones, Public- 
Printer Benedict and General Maxwell left the Richmond in carriages and 
were conveyed to the Central depot. There were several hundred people at 
the depot and the distinguished Washingtonians were thoroughly inspected 
until 7:15 o'clock, when they left on their special train for Niagara Falls 
over the Central's Tonawanda branch. They were accompanied by D. W. 



—tii— 

Tomlinson, who returned to Batavia last night, coming back with the party, 
which passed through here about 9 o'clock. 

In addition to the two palace cars occupied by the guests the private car 
of Superintendent Beach of the Lehigh Valley was on the train. 

The run to Niagara Falls was made in an hour and a half, including 
quite a lengthy stop at Tonawanda. The party registered at the Cataract 
House and the gentlemen at once walked to Prospect Point, where a fine 
view of the falls was obtained, the moon having come out. 

Yesterday every point of interest in the vicinity of the Falls was visited, 
such a complete tour being made that Secretary Carlisle remarked that he 
was sure that if there was anything that they hadn't seen it must have been 
concealed in advance. Mrs. Micou, Secretary Herbert's daughter, and Sec- 
retary Smith had never visited the cataract before and several of the other 
members of the party had caught only flying glimpses of it. 

Secretary and Mrs. Lament arrived in Buffalo yesterchiy morning and 
joined the party, but yesterday afternoon the Secretary received word that 
his mother was sick and left at once for licr. home at Md.ravville i'^rs. 
Lamont returned to Washington with the party. 

Secretary and Mrs Gresham left tlie Falls last night for CiiLago. 

{/li/Jfa/o lixpn-ss.) 

The Batavians are making no mistake in emphasizing the relation of 
Robert Morris, a truly great man, with the development of our region. 
There has been organized the Holland Purchase Historical Society, wh ch 
has acquired title to the property, and will preserve it and make it an his- 
torical museum. It is appropriate that Secretary Carlisle, who now presides 
over the Department which was first directed by Robert Morris, should make 
the dedicatory address. The historical celebration at Batavia on October 
13th has aroused a widespread interest, and should prove stimulative to 
other places which have buildings of historic interest worthy of preservation. 

{Ro hestc'r Union and A /i>--'rfis?r.) 

To day the people of Batavia dedicate the old llollantl [.and (Jflicc, ih; 
historical relic of that village. It has been purchased l)y the iiolland i'u - 
chase Historical Association, and the old landmark will thus be preserved 
for the luture generations 

The preservation of the Holland Land Office is worthy of all praise. In 
these days there are but few relics of the memorable past left in New York 
State. The New England States are the most prolific in these dumb wit- 
nesses of the past. The pioneers of the west are not commemorated in 
many ways. The Holland Land Office is one of the very few relics left. 

{Rochester Herald.) 

Saturday will be a red letter day in the history of Batavia and Genesee 
County. The old office of the Holland Land Company is to be dedicated as 
a historical museum and a memorial address on the public services of Rob- 
ert Morris is to be delivered by Hon. John G. Carli.sle, Secretary of the 
Treasury. Of late years Mr. Carlisle has seldom been heard on other than 



—113 — 

political subjects, and an oration of permanent value may be expected from 
one who is so careful a student of American history and so eloquent a public 
speaker. Secretary Carlisle will gain special inspiration from the fact that 
he is called upon to eulogiee one of the most distinguished of his predecess- 
ors in the important task of managing the National finances. 

{Rochester Post Express.) 

On October 13th the old stone building at Batavia which was used as an 
office by the Holland Land Company is to be "dedicated as a memorial to 
Robert Morris, the great patriot and financier of the Revolution, and the first 
owner of the lands in Western New York." The dedicatory exercises will 




THE HRISBANK CURVE FROM TONA\VA>JUA BRIDGE. 



be under the management of the Holland Purchase Historical Society, which 
was organized about a year ago to buy the old land office, save it from de- 
struction, and change it into a museum wherein relics of pioneer davs and 
documents of historical interest may be preserved. The J^osi Express was 
one of the first newspapers to commend the purposes of the Holland Pur- 
chase Historical Society. It is engaged in a good work, and we hope it may 
have a prosperous and useful career. 

[Harper's Weekly.) 

It is given to few men to save their country twice. 

n- *!* 'T* 't^ *!• 'i" 'K •1^ 'I^ '1* 

The close of the war found Mr. Morris a ruined man. But notwithstand- 



—114 — 

ing the shameful ingratitude which left him to disappear in oblivion and dis- 
tress, he unconsciously built his own monument, and that out of his misfor- 
tune. 

Now this venerable building has become the first, and lamentably the 
only, monument to the memory of a unique patriot — a man who involved 
himself in financial ruin and went to a debtor's prison that his country might 
live- 

(Warsaw New Yorket.) 

The dedication of the Holland Land Office at Batavia last Saturday was 
a success. The weather was not just what could be desired, but the pro- 
gram was carried out in the fullest detail. It was certainly a very creditable 
affair, and the attendance showed great interest in the purpose of the cele- 
bration. The forenoon was occupied in the dedicatory services and the pro- 
cession was full of interesting events. Secretary Carlisle's address was a 
tine tribute to the name and fame of Robert Morris. The attendance of 
several members of the Cabinet and the use of Robert Morris' name nation- 
alized the affair. 

{PJiiladelpJiia Inquirer. ) 

It is not creditable to the bankers and financial men of Philadelphia that 
Secretary Carlisle could say with truth what he said in his address on Satur- 
day at the dedication at Batavia, New York, of a memorial to Robert Mor- 
ris, that although next to Washington, Morris had done more than any other 
American to establish the political liberties of his country, nowhere in the 
United States is there a statue of him. It would seem to be the duty of the 
Philadelphia financiers to care tor the fame of the great Philadelphia finan- 
cier of the Revolution, and it is to be hoped that Mr. Carlisle's remarks will 
spur them into the removal of what is in the nature of a reproach upon them- 
selves. 

{Batavia Daily News.) 

Land-Otftce day has passed into history as the greatest day that Batavia 
ever had, and a great day it was, indeed. Everybody had a good time, 
from the Cabinet officers down to the humblest citizen of the Holland Pur- 
chase who came to town, and all this in the face of the disheartening fact 
that the weather was beastly. The gentlemen from Washmgton, speaking 
for themselves and the ladies who accompanied them, assured General Max- 
well and President Tomlinson of the Bank of Batavia, who accompanied the 
party to Niagara Falls, that they all had passed the day pleasantly and they 
added that they were never better cared for or more happily entertained 
anywhere. They were lavish in praise of the arrangements that were so in- 
telligently made and so successfully carried out. 

{Batavia Daily News.) 

Land-Office day has come and gone, and it is due to the not very large 
number who had in charge the arrangement of the details of the demonstra- 
tion to say that it was unequivocally a grand success. Preparations were 
made so carefully and so completely that the wretched weather that was cal- 



— 115— 

culated to make nearly impossible the carrying out of the programme was 
thwarted in its calamitous intents almost at every point, and the thousands 
of visitors, appreciating the fact that Batavia could not be held accountable 
for the vagaries of the elements, went home with nothing but words of praise 
on their lips. It was a magnificent observance of an event that is to be his- 
torical, and every member of every committee who actively contributed to 
its grand consummation is entitled to the greatest credit. 

Batavians generally did themselves proud on the occasion, and all must 
enjoy a feeling of satisfaction that the affair, so important as it was and of 
such magnitude, passed off so smoothly under weather conditions that of 
themselves were discouraging. 




THE TONAWANDA BRIDGE— LAND OFFICE IN THE DISTANCE. 



{New York Sun.) 

But for Robert Morris and his credit the French alliance of that year 
would never have been formed. For we must not suppose that France sprang 
to our aid on impulse. Nations do not do that sort of thing. We may be 
sure that France looked well to our finances and chance of success before 
she took the risk of sharing our defeat. And except for the personal re- 
sponsibility assumed for Congi ess by Mr. Morris, our finances were all on 
paper. There was Continental paper momey promising to pay on demand, 
and still other paper money, issued as drafts by individual States on the 
colonial Treasury, for States loans that in turn were only on paper. And 
here was a man who stood so high in the confidence of men and nations that 
his private credit redeemed all. 



-ii6— 

Mr. Morris's hand showed itself not only in the vigorous policy of his de- 
partment, but in the rigid economy of its administration. Hundreds of su- 
perfluous officeholders, parasites who were sucking their little selves full of 
the nation's life blood, were summarily dismissed. We find that upon one 
occasion the (Quartermaster-General of the army came to him with a requis- 
ition to buy a hundred tons of hay for a certain brigade, and that Mr. Mor- 
ris, after inquiries as to the size of the brigade, promptly cut down the 
amount of hay to twelve tons ; and that proved to be more than a su^Ticient 
supply. 

During these years Mr. Morris's private assistance to the army was never 
relaxed. His ships were constantly running the blockade with supplies from 
Europe purchased in his name. He would send a cargo of his own commod- 
ities to France, the ship would return to America laden with military goods, 
and, running into the first available harbor, distribute the goods directly to 
the army. The extent of Mr. Morris's losses by this unbusinesslike but con- 
venient procedure will never be known. Frank C. Drake. 

{Rochester Democrat and C/iroii/cte.) 

The Celebration at Batavia yesterday became an event of national sig- 
nificance because the occasion had been seized to do public honor, for the 
first time, to the memory of Robert Morris, the patriot, to whom as much as 
any other one man America owes its freedom, who gave all his substance 
freely to his country, and whom his country left to die in poverty and forgot 
with all convenient speed. 

The direct occasion of the commemoration that crowded Batavia with 
visitors yesterday was the preservation of a famous local landmark and hi,s- 
torical relic, the old land office, by the Holland Purchase Historical Society. 
The substantial stone building, dating from 1813, which in its early days had 
been the business headquarters of the whole region, was diverted from its 
original purpose in 1839, when the Holland Land Company ceased to exist, 
and since then has passed through many hands and known evil days. The 
bnilding was falling into decay, and would soon have been torn down, had 
not a number of patriotic citizens determined to save it. They formed a 
historical society, acquired title to the building, and will make it a historical 
museum, the shrine and conservator of the history and tradition of the re- 
gion. It was decided to publicly dedicate it to its new uses, and out of this 
decision grew the celebration of yesterday, which made Batavia a center of 
national interest. 

It was a happy thought that suggested linking the name and memory of 
a man to whom the country had owed much and rendered nothing, with the 
local celebration. Robert Morris had been the original white owner of all 
the land which passed from him to the Holland Land Company, and might 
have remained its owner but for the fact that he had made himself a bank- 
rupt as a result of his services to his country. There may be other places 
on whom the duty of honoring his memory rested more particularly than on 
Batavia; indeed, there was no American city or village or hamlet on which 
this duty did not rest. But they had all with one accord neglected it, and it 
is peculiarly to Batavia's honor that, first of all American communities, it 
paid honor to this great and neglected patriot. It was this feature of the 



—777— 

celebration that brought the members of the present national cabinet to Ba- 
tavia to take part in the celebration, that made it particularly appropriate 
that the present Secretary of the Treasury of the United State? should de- 
liver the address at the dedication of a monument to the memory of the Sec- 
retary of the Treasury of the United Colonies. 

For the old Holland Land Offi^ will stand as this nation's first monument 
to one of its foremost founders, somewhat mitigating- a long-standing dis- 
grace. He asked for bread and, after many years, we have given him, at 
least, a stoae. Whittier's " Prisoner for Debt " applies, ineveryline, to Rob- 
ert Morris, who spent more than one Independence Day in a debtor's prison, 
and remembering that, no American could read it without a tingle of shame. 

Bataxia has earned general thanks for the spirit of patriotism that 




ACROSS THE STREET FROM' THE LAND OFFICE. 



prompted yesterday's observance as well as general "congratulations upon 
the suc-^oss of the occasion. 



Look on him !— through his dungeon grate 

Feebly and fold, the morning light 
Comes stealiriiT around him, dim and late, 

As if it loathed the sight. 
Reclining on his strawy bed. 
His hand upholds his drooping head, — 
His bloodless cheek is seamed and hard. 
Unshorn his gray, neglected beard ; 
And o'er his bony fingers flow 
His long, dishevelled locks of snow. 



J^o grateful lire before him glows, 
And yet the winter's breath is chill ; 

And o'er his half clad person goes 
The frequent ague thrill ! 

Silent, save ever and anon, 

A sound, half murmur and half groan, 

Forces apart the painful grip 

Of the old sufferer's bearded lip ; 

O sad and crushing is the fate 

Of old age chained and desolate 1 

Just God : why lies that old man there ? 

A murderer shares his prison bed, 
Whose eyeballs, through his horrid hair. 

Gleam on him, fierce and red ; 
And the rude oath and heartless jeer 
Fall ever on his loathing ear. 
Anil, or in wakefulness or sleep. 
Nerve, flesh, and pulses thrill and creep 
Whene'er that ruffian's tossing limb. 
Crimson with murder, touches him ! 
What has the gray haired prisoner done ? 

Has murder stained his hands with gore? 
Not so ; his crime's a fouler one ; 

God made the old man poor ! 
For this he shares a felon's cell, | 
Tiie fittest earthly type of hell ! 
For this, the boon for which he poured 
His voung blood on tlie Invader's sword. 
And counted light the fearful cost.— 
His blood gained liberty is lost ! 

And so, for such a place of rest. 

Old prisoner, dropped thy blood as rain 
On Concord's field, and Bunker's crest. 

And Saratoya's plain. 
Look forth, thou man of many scars, 
Tnrough thy dim dungeon's iron bars ; 
It must be joy, in sooth, to see 
Yon monument upreared to thee,— 
Piltd granite and a prison cell,— 
The land repays thy service well 1 
Go, ring the bells add fire the guns, 

And fling the starry banner out ; 
Shout '• Freedom 1 " till your lisping ones 

Give back their cradle-shout ; 
Let boastful eloquence declaim 
Of honor, liberty, and fame ; 
Still let the poet's strain be heard. 
With glory for each second word. 
And everything with breath agree 
To praise " our glorious liberty ! " 
But when the patriot cannon jars 

That prison's cold and gloomy wall. 
And through its grates the stripes and stars 

Rise on the wind, and fall.— 
Think ye that prisoner's aged ear 
Kej Dices in the general cheer? 
Think ye his dim and failing eye 
Is kindled at your pageantry ? 
Sorrowing of soul, and chained of limb, 
What is your carnival to him ? 



—119— 

Down with the law thatlbinds him thus ! 

Unwoi-thy freemen, let it find 
No refuge from the withering curse 

Of God and human kind 1 
Open the prison's living tomb, 
And usher from its brooding gloom 
The victims of your savage code 

To the free sun and air of God ; 
No longer dare as crime to brand 
The chastening of the Almighty's liand. — [Whittikr. 




4 



ON THE LINE OF MARCH— THE TURN JUST WEST OF THE LAND OFFICE. 

[N. A. Woodward.) 

What careth the wurld for a man when dead. 
When his breath is gone — his spirit hath fled ': 



Though noble and grand was the work of his hand, 

Performed for his own or a foreign land ; 

Though his fame spread wide, and his name be great. 

From ruling a realm or forming a state— 

What careth the crowd for his senseless clay:- 

The lion is dead— he hath had his day. 

So they hasten to lay his corpse away 

From the sight of men— and the world is gay. 

{PInladelphia Inquirer.) 

Notwithstanding his wretched existence at this time, it fs recorded that 
in his intercourse with people he never lost the buoyant, sanguine disposition 
which had mad* him what he had been and perhaps, alas, what he was. 



T20 

Fiiends came to the prison on his invitation to dine with him; they found the 
same magnetic host who had built the first private conservatory in America 
to adjoin the dining room of his now vanished mansion, serving with genial 
face the poor fare of the prison. 

Upon his release from prison Mr. Morris and his wife took up their resi- 
dence in a cheap part of Philadelphia. Here the great financier lived the 
few years remaining to him. 

It would be curious to know if the old man ever strolled into that part of 
the city where were buildmgs that he used to own and banks that he used to 
be president of, and men who once toadied to him. Probably he did, and 
probably it never occurred to his soaring nature that he was apathetic figure. 

Mr. Morris died May 8, 1806, and was buried in a cemetery that then 
was soft with grass and bright with sunshine, but now is paved with brick 
and hemmed in with buildings. Some of the graves still have blue sky and 
sunshine left them, but Robert Morris' resting place has been robbed even of 
that by the encroaching city. 

The memorial to him at Hatavia came about as follows: We have said 
that he had sought to save his credit by land speculation; indeed, all that 
remained of his great fortune was tied up in large tracts of territoiy in Penn- 
sylvania, Louisiana, Maryland and New York. The most valuable of these 
tracts was in the last named State, where he owned all the land west of the 
Genesee river. It will be remembered that much of the money he borrowed 
for the colonies came from Holland. When, thr )ugh lack of capital to en 
able him to wait for the advancing settlers to create a profitable demand for 
his land, he was finally driven to the wall, his Holland creditors and others 
organized the Holland Land Company. To them he transferred his tract in 
New York. In 1804 this company erected a substantial stone building at 15a- 
tavia for the transaction of their business. This building, within whose walls 
has been transferred the original title to every piece of ground in Western 
New York, is the memorial dedicated to-day to Robert Morris, and 
with shame be it said, it is the only monument his countrymen have thus far 
granted to his memory. 

Washington's lofty monument is red with the setting sun after the electric 
lights are lit in the streets; Lincoln's name has not yet died out of the news- 
papers; Grant will sleep in a marble palace by the lovely Hudson; but Mor- 
ris . Frank C. Drake. 

{Dr. Henry Morris.) 

Seldom in my life have I experienced as much pleasure as was given me 
by the receipt of your invitation to be present this morning, as a descendant 
of Robert Morris, the financier of the Revolution, whose memory you have 
just honored by the dedication to him of the old historic building which stands 
before us. In honoring the memory of Robert Morris, I feel that we also 
honor ourselves by perpetuating the memory of one of the noblest patriots, 
one of the purest men in his domestic life, and one of the most fearless when 
his duty called him that this or any other country has ever produced. 

Born in England in 1734, he was brought to America by his father, at the 
early^age of 13 years. 

On^the death of his^fathcr at the;age of 37 years,3';;by the premature dis- 



— 121 - 

charge of a cannon lired in his honor, the wadding of which struck him on the 
breast, Robert Morris entered upon his bus iness career, in which he was so 
eminently successful that, at the outbreak of the Revolutionary War, he was 
regarded as the richest man in America, and the firm of Morris & Willing was 
known over the whole mercantile world for its success, probity, and honor. 

Married to the daughter of Col. Thomas White of Maryland, and the sis- 
ter of William Wliite, one of the first Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church m America, he had a numerous family of son-, and daughters, whom 
their turn left children behind them, so that two generations ago it seemed as 
if he were destined to be the ancester of a long line who would perpetuate his 
honored name. 

At present, however the sole male reoresentatives bearim^ the family 




ON THE LINE OF MARCH — ELLICOTT AVENUE, IN FRONT OF THE .MA.XWELL RESIDENCE. 

name are nyself and son, descended from his eldest son, Robert; and my 
cousins, Messrs. Gouveneur and Fisher Morris, with their sons, descended 
from his son Henry Morris. 

Being prominent in the colony of Pennsylvania, Robert Morris was nat- 
urally /selected to represent her as one of the delegates to the Continental Con- 
gress, which was held in Carpenter's Hall in Philadelphia in 1775. 

Tie feeling of the Colonists during the early years of the Revolutionary 
War was a curious one. They regarded England as their mother-country and 
were not fighting for separation from her, for independence, but against the 
unjust taxation, the tyranny and oppression of the dominant political party 
then in power in England as represented by the cabinet of George HI. led by 
the Prime Minister, Lord North. 



-122 — 

When, thdr^fore, the (question of a separation from the mother-country, as- 
set forth in our glorious Declaration of Independence, was Hrst mooted, it was 
received by many with feelings of doubt as to its advisability, by others with 
doubt as to its expediency at that particular time. 

Among the latter was probably Robert Morris. He knew tliere was a 
strong and rapidly growing party in England under the leadership of Fox 
and Burke who were favorable to the colonies and who might be antagonized 
by an expressed desire on the part of the latter to separate themselves once 
and forever from tlie rule of the mother-country; and believing tluit this ac- 
tion on the part of the colonists would tend to unite the Knglish more firmlv 
against them and thus prolong the war — a war which was carried on in liis 
own country, at his very door — he, it is said, opposed this separation. 

Was he influenced by personal fear in his opposition? 

Not at all, for no sooner had Congress decided to adopt the Declaration 
of Independence than in a bold, clear, firm hand, he placed his signature upon 
the document which insures liberty and equality to all. in consequence of 
this act, he, as well as the other members of Congress whf) had signed the 
Declaration, were adjudged guilty of high treason by the British Government, 
and had they been taken they wjuld have baen hangel with but scant time 
for grace. 

Then came the dark days of the Revolution when Philadelphia was in the 
hands of the British and when the country was toy poor to supply the troops 
with food or clothing; when jealousy arose among the different colonies and 
when all the colonies were jealous of the authority of the Continental Con- 
gress, when the currency of the country had depreciated, and when the far- 
mers would no longer furnish ])r()visions to Washington's starving army at 
Valley Forge. 

You all know the history of that tune; how that noblest and purest of men. 
General George Washington, among the uncertainties of war, with a defeated 
army shivering in their winter quarters while the British held high revel in the 
cities, almost in despair applied to his friend Morris, as his last resort, and 
Morris responded, (riving all his available means, and pledging his personal 
credit and his honor, he raised the needed money to clothe and feed the army, 
he saved the country, and he ruined himself. 

Why should I take up your time, telling you what every school boy knows, 
how he raised money time after time for the army, how he was appointed by 
Congress Superintendent of Finance, a name borrowed from a French office 
under the Bourbons, and which was afterwards changed to that of Secretary 
of the Treasury, the position at present so worthily filled by our great Ameri- 
can Financier, the Hon. John G. Carlisle, and how finally after the war was 
over and the finances of the country were beginning to assume a better shape, 
owing to his exertions and the better feeling of security which began to pre- 
vail among all classes of Americans, he refused reappointment to the ofiice he 
had so long held, and the duties of which he had so faithfully and efficiently 
discharged, pleading to the repeated solicitations of General Washington, that 
his private affairs needed his closest supervision and attention, and suggested 
as the name of the most fitting man for the place, that of your illustrious fel- 
low statesman, Alexander Hamilton. 

Robert Morris then retired from public life, and finding his private fortune 



— 123— 

much diminished, partly owing to his own neglect during the period of his 
public life, but more especially owing to the (for that time) vast sums which h^ 
loaned the Government and which they were unable to repay, and believing 
in the great future of the country whose welfare he had done so much to pro- 
mote, he entered into vast schemes for colonization and land speculation with 
a view to developmg the country as well as to retrieve his fortune. Unfor- 
tunately for him he was half a century too soon to realize on his vast purchases, 
and being, as he afterwards said, accustomed during his public life to handling 
millions of Dollars as others did thousands, he ran in debt and was finally cast 
into the debtors prison, for what in these days would seem a paltry sum in- 
deed. 

Here he remained until Congress, recognizmg the debt the country owed 



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ON THE LINE OF MARCH — HEAD OF ELLICOTT AVENUE. 



him. and unable to repay him the money he had loaned, passed th e Bank- 
ruptcy act, it is said, especially for his benefit. 

Of this act he hastened to avail himself, and resigned to assignees all his 
vast landed estates, but so httle was thought of the value of unsettled land 
at that time that nothing was ever done toward settlmg his estate, and when 
the court dissolved his bankruptcy and released his estate in 1827, it was found 
that but little remained for creditors or descendants. After his release from 
the Debtor's Prison, Robert Morris, broken in health and spirits, resided un- 
til his death, which occurred in 1806, with his daughter, Mrs. Nixon, in Phila- 
delphia, making a request, as I have been informed, on his death bed, that 
his descendants should never claim from the United States the money he had 



124 — 

so freely given. Viewed from a worldly point tind in view of his ultimate 
want of success, the private life of Robert Morris was a failure ; but can we 
deem it a failure when we see what he accomplished in his public capacity, 
and study the example of pure and unselfish patriotism which he set us? 

Patriotism dependent upon interested motives is not uncommon, but here 
was a man sacrificing great wealth, freely and cheerfully, for the benefit of 
the country which he loved, at the time when that country was in most press- 
ing need, and when by many the tiltimate success of the cause for which he 
sacrificed himself seemed hopeless. 

In this brief sketch 1 have purposely said nothing about the connection 
between Robert Morris and your county, because I know this will be dealt 
with by abler and more eloquent speakers. 

I have endeavored merely to call your attention to the great example he 
set, not only to us but to all future generations, an example which deserves 
more imitators, that of unselfish and fearless patriotism. 

(Contributed.) 
ROBERT MORRIS. 

Bright star of the bi'isht gala.xy th;it gleamed 

Through the long night of danger and of war, . 

Thy setting was of s-idness. while afar ' ~'. =• 

The sunrise shone upon a land redeemed, 

On fetters riven, and a fair flag streamed 

Into a sky where it shall Hoat as free 

As the fond air, through ages yet to be. 

Master or man ! Wliiclisver thou art deemed. 

Thy Nation knows thy nobleness of heu't. 

Thy sacrifice. The olive bearing dove. 

The covenant of progress, peaee and art 

Came at thy call. While burn the stars abov •, 

While floats that flag, who shall forsay ttiy part. 

Humility, humanity, and love. 

{Mary Morris White Church.) 

Thank you very much for the papers. I am mueli iiuio )te(l to you for all 
the trouble you have taken. Indeed, the whole Morns family will always feel 
grateful to you and Batavia for the honor shown the memory of our patriot 
ancestor. To be the first to do tardy justice is something to be proud of, and 
will always be remembered. The base ingratitude shown him during his 
final years, shows more clearly now than it probably did then, as our manners 
and customs are so different, but justice, thanks to Batavia, is at last being 
done to all that he was in our struggle for Independence. 

Too much cannot be said in praise of the patriotism of Batavia, and the 
name of your town is now known broadcast over the country. 

We were sorry not to see you and say good-bye. Also express our appre- 
ciation of all the delightful hospitality shown us on Saturday. It will always 
remain a charming memory. 

{Johti B. Church. ] 

The Revolution gave me my wife. When I first saw Mary White I made 
bold to introduce myself, which I did in the following terms: " I think I have 



—125— 

d right to know you : my great-grandfather bovtght the provisions for tlae Rev- 
olutionary army, and your great-grandfather found the money to buy them 
with. My great-grandfather bought from your great-grandfather the land on 
which I was born and reared. I think our histories touch." That my wife 
and I are here to-day to witness the dedication of the first monument to her 
illustrious ancestor, will show how well I fared in my suit. Her gratification 
is great, but I doubt whether it can much exceed my own. 



The death of Hon. Philip Church, at the ripe age of 83, after a rasidence 
of 56 years in our midst — the pioneer and patriarch of the county — has awak- 
ened in our community the most lively interest, and drawn forth its deepest 
sympathies. Judge Church but seldom entered the political arena. His 



^»i 




A SIDE GLIMPSE FROM THE LINE OF MARCH — TRACY PLACE. 

tastes, his habits, and his avocations, as a large landed proprietor, directed 
his talents and his energies into other, but not less useful nor less important 
channels. 

The threads of his life have been of a mingled texture— the epoch in 
which his years were numbered was one of the most eventful in history. Born 
to wealth and educated amid refinement and luxury — associated in youth with, 
the prominent and leading spirits of the age in both hemispheres, we find him 
ere the flush of boyhood had scarcely faded, breasting with self-sacrificing 
spirit the hardships of the wilderness and developing through a long series of 
years, with successful energy, the resources of our rugged land till the wilder- 
ness had literally blossomed. 

The subject of this memoir was born April 14, 1778; his father, John B. 



— 126- - 

Church, under the assumed name of Carter, acted as commissary to the 
French army during the American Revolution, and afterwards resuming his 
own name, married Angelica, eldest daughter of Gen. Philip Schuyler. 

In 1 781, while yet an infant, and during the visit of his mother at the resi- 
dence of Gen. Schuyler, near Albany, the celebrated attempt was made to 
capture the General by a detachment of oificers and soldiers of the British 
army ; the infant was then asleep in the cradle ; his mother rushed into the hall, 
seized the child in her arms and, while retreating, a wound was inflicted on 
his forehead, the scar of which he often exhibited as the first and only wound 
he received in the wars. 

His father, in 1783, left this country with his family, and after spending 
about eighteen months in Paris, fixed his residence in England; in 1787 he 
was elected member of Parliament, and represented the Borough of Wend- 
over in the House of Commons. His son Phillip, at the proper age, entered- 
E:on, where he pursued his studies for six consecutive years. Eton has ever 
been the favorite school of the nobility and gentry, and here our .subject form 
ed mtimajies with many who afterwards became prominent in English his- 
tory. During vacations, when he visited his father's house, in London, he 
met some of the prominent statemen of the day. On one occasion he met the 
Prince of Wales, afterwards George IV. The Prince of Wales was always 
friendly, but George III could never forget the part he had taken during the 
Revolution, and as the King rode by " Down Place,'" the country-seat of John 
B. Church, he would sneeringly point to it as the residence of the " Aiiuruau 
Commissary-" Phillip, as the eldest son of a member, was entitled t > attend 
the Parliamentary debates, and enjoyed the rare and enviable privilege of 
hearing Fox, Burke, Sheridan, and the younger Pitt, a glowing galaxy of or- 
ators — the most brilliant that ever convened at any one period in the world's 
history. After leaving Eton, he entered the Middle Temple, and commenced 
the study of law. About this time he received from the author himself a pre- 
sentation copy of Walker's Dictionary, still preserved in the family. 

The father of the deceased removed with his family from England in the 
year 1797, and resumed his residence in the city of New York. At this time 
he ranked as one of the richest residents in the country. He embarked in 
business, became one of the largest underwriters of the time, leaving his heirs 
claims against the French Government for spoliation, the payment of which 
was assumed by the U. S. Government at the purchase from France of Louis- 
iana. These claims, with the interest added, would now amount to an enor- 
mous sum. Our Government has never paid a dollar towards them. 

In 1799 he visited Canandaigua to attend the sale, under foreclosure, of a 
tract of land, being part of Morris' Reserve, situated m the then county of 
Ontario (now Allegany), comprising 100,000 acres. Hamilton was the mort- 
gagee in trust for John B. Church. At the sale, Philip bid in the property 
and took a deed in his own name, dated May 6, 1800. But the property was 
actually purchased in joint account with his father. This property has been 
^he theatre of his labors, from the commencement of the present century up 
to the close of his career. 

Soon after this he completed his law studies, was admitted to the bar, but 
practiced his profession only a short time, and his landed estate was then the 
stibject of absorbing interest. 



127- 

In July, 1801, he left the city on an exploring expedition, providing him- 
self at Geneva with camp equipage and provisions, and on his route procured 
the services of Maj. Moses Van Campen and Evart Van Winkle, surveyors, 
John Gibson, John Lewis and Stephen Price. They all met by appointment 
at Almond, the nearest settlement, eighteen miles from the tract. They 
made an active and thorough exploration, encountering fatigue, hardships, 
and privations. Capt. Church, to whom forest-life then opened a new and 
startling chapter, dwelt upon an incident that evidently made a strong impres. 
sion. One day he had cut his foot, and was confined to camp ; the rest of the 
party had been out exploring all day, had got bewildered, and Capt. Chnrch 
heard their shouts afar off while searching for the camp, but they were pro- 
ceediu"- in the wron-.^ direction, and, as their vf)ices diei away in the dr.;tance, 




Ay ARCHITECTURAL LANDMARK NEAR THE JUNCTION OF THE INDIAN TRAILS. "THE 
AMERICAN HEROIC AGE DID ITS FIGHTING IN GREEK, AND BUILT WITH ITS EYE ON 
THE PARTHENON." A PRECURSOR OF THE COURT OF HONOR. 

and as the silent, sombre shades of evening were spreading over the profound 
forest, he described the sensation of loneliness as being almost intolerable. 
Morning, however, at length arrived, and the lost party returned. The ex- • 

ploration was soon after completed ; not, however, till their provisions were 
nearly enhausted, when they dispersed for their several destinations. Capt. 
Church determined to visit Niagara before his return. Accordingly, selecting 
Maj. Van Campen, they two started together by an Indian trail westward, 
their companions parting from them for their homes in an opppsite direction. 
Major Van Campen was a remarkably athletic man, with a vigorous constitu- 



—128— 

tion and indomitable spirit, celebrated for his daring feats in Indian warfare, 
and for his skilled forest strategy. His life has been written by one of his 
descendants. The Major, from this time forward, became an important co- 
adjutor to Captain Church, and continued in his service more or less for the 
remainder of his life. He moved his family to Angelica soon after the vil- 
lage was founded, and continued his residence there to within a few years of 
the termination of his life. 

After a tramp of three days through the forest, the last forty-eight hours 
without food, they reached the village of New Amsterdam, now Buffalo, with 
torn garments, empty purses, and almost famished. They visited the Falls, 
returned to Buffalo, and there they resumed their pedestrian trip by the 
"white man's trail," shoeless, moneyless, but with renewed physical power, 
and full of youth and vigor, for the village of Bath, about loo miles distant. 
They passed through Batavia, where the Holland Land Company had just 
built their office In this neighborhood Captain Cnurch burrowed money 
from a Mr. Stoddard, and with i eplenished finances, well-shod, and coinfon- 
ably if not fashionably clad, they proceeded cheerily on t leir ' winding 
way." At Geneseo they visited Mr. Wadsworth, a New York friend of Cap- 
tain Church, and finally reached Bath in safety. 

After his return to New York he set himself earnestly at work to com- 
mence the settlement of his lands; and. in 1802, sent his surveyor, Evart V.m 
Winkle, to sp-lect the site of the village which was accordingly done, and 
Captain Church named the place ''Angelica," after his mother He also vis 
ited the country in person that year, and selected his farm and future resi- 
dence on the banks of tlie Genesee. In this selection he manifested shrewd- 
ness and sound judgment. Were the selection to be made now, with all the 
advantages of an open country spread out before him, he could not in any 
particular have improved upon the selection then made. The 2,000 acres 
set aside is the finest land in the whole tract, and the situation of the house 
is incomparably the finest in the whole country. The wonder is that he 
should so readily have made such a strikingly favorable selection in the in- 
terminable woods, when the sight was so circumscribed and when he could 
only form his judgment from a knowledge of the general conformation of the 
country, obtained by personal explorations. This place he named Belvidere. 

On the 4th of February, 1805, Capt. Church married Anna Matilda, 
eldest daughter of Gen. Walter Stewart, of Philadelphia. The succeeding 
June the youthful pair started for the home prepared for them in the wilder- 
ness. "The White House " was ready for their reception. They reached 
it by riding from Bath to Belvidere, forty-four miles, on horseback, most of 
the distance by a bridle-path cut through the woods. 

Gen. Stewart, Mrs. Church's father, had died in 1796 : he acted a prom- 
inent part through the revolutionary war ; was at the battles of Monmouth, 
Stony Point, and Yorktown. In Trumbull's painting of the surrender of 
Cornwallis, now hanging in the rotunda, at Washington, Gen. Stewart was 
represented among the other officers. He was an intimate and familiar 
friend of Washington. The family have a miniature of Washington, pre- 
sented to Mrs. Gen. Stewart, accompanied by the following note written by 
himself : 



— I2g — 

Wednesday, i6th March, 1796. 
Not foi- the representation or the value, but because it is the production 
of a fair lady, the President, takes the liberty of presenting the enclosed with 
his best regards to Mrs. Stewart, praying her acceptance of it. 

Capt. Church lived in the "White House" until 1810, when the stone 
mansion now standing on the banks of the Genesee was ready for their re- 
ception. Soon they were established in their new residence. — Angelica 
Reporter. 

{Presidetit Cleveland.) 

Executive Mansion, Washington, Oct. 4, 1894. 
My Dear Sir : — The President directs me to acknowledge the receipt 
of the invitation of the Holland Purchase Historical Society to attend the 




A natural triumphal arch belting the lines of march— in front of the 

GLOWACKI AND NORTH RESIDENCES. 



exercises of dedication of the old Land Office at Batavia as a memorial to 
Robert Morris. It would give the President great pleasure to be present on 
that occasion and thus to express his appreciation of the distinguished ser- 
vices of the eminent patriot and financier whose work you will commemorate, 
but his engagements are such that he regrets that it will be impossible for 
him to accept this courteous invitation. Very truly yours, 

Henry T. Thurber, Private Secretary. 
To Chairman Committee on Invitations, Batavia, N, Y. 



— /JO— 

{Willi atn Kir kpa trick.) 

We send with this the Onondaga Centennial Medal, and beg that it may 
find a place in your collection. The medal commemorated the erection of 
the County of Onondaga and the Military Tract, which was given to the sol- 
diers of the Revolution of the State of New York. Each private received 
six hundred acres, and officers according to their rank. 

(Hon. Levi P. Morton.) 

I beg leave to acknowledge the courtesy of the invitation to be present 
at the dedication of the old Land Office of the Holland Purchase on the 13th 
inst. The occasion will be a notable one, embracing as it will so much that 
is of interest in the development of Western New York. 1 also recall the 
patriotic services of the great financier of the Revolution. 

I sincerely regret that pressure of my engagements will prevent my at- 
tendance and the acceptance of the hospitality of the Holland Purchase His- 
torical Association. 

(Hon. James O. Pitt/iain.) 

I have the lienor to acknowledge receipt of your kind invitation to at- 
tend upon the Robert Morris memorial exercises on the 13th inst. Grateful 
for the courtesy of the Committee, I have pleasure in accepting it. Will the 
Committee be pleased to accept my congratulations on the wonderful, even 
national, response to their original memorial thought. 

(Governor Flower.) 

Governor Flower presents his compliments to the Holland Purchase His- 
torical Society, and regrets exceedingly his inability to be present at the 
dedication of the old Land Office at Batavia on October 13th, 1894, as a 
memorial to Robert Morris. 

( Gouverneur Morris. ) 

1 beg leave to acknowledge the receipt of your invitation to attend the 
dedication of the Holland Land Office memorial to Robert Morris on the 
13th inst. It is with feelings of great regret that I am unable to be present 
at the celebration attending this mark of honor to my great-grandfather, 
but I hope that my son, Robert Moiris (9th), who will be present, may be a 
worthy representative of the family. With thanks for the honor. 

(Robert Morris.) 

I take great pleasure in accepting your invitation to be present at the 
dedicatory exercises in honor of the patriot, Robert Morris, and will be in 
Batavia on the day named. 

(Mrs. Robert Morr/s.) 

Mrs. Robert Morris appreciates the compliment and respect offered to 
the memory of Robert Morris, and thanking you for your polite invitation, 
regrets exceedingly that it is impossible for her to be present at that time. 



{Dr. Henry Morris.) 

Dr. Henry Morris appreciates the honor of and accepts with pleasure 
the invitation of the Holland Purchase Historical Society to be present at 
Batavia as its guest on the 13th of October, the occasion of the dedication of 
the Old Land Office of the Holland Purchase as a memorial to his great- 
grandfather, Robert Morris of the Revolution. 

{Buffalo Courier.) 

When the Holland Land Company was first organized the following 
members controlled the organization: Wilhelm Willink, Jan Willink, Nich- 
olas Van Staphorst, Jacob Van Staphorst, Nicholas Hubbard, Peter Van 
Eeghen, Christian Van Eeghen, Isaac Ten Catc, Hendrick Vallenhoven, 




ON THE LINE OF MARCH — CAUSE AND EFFECT — THE ORIGIN OF THE GOTHIC 

— "THE GROVES WERE GOU'S FIRST TEMPLES." 



ARCHITCTURE 



Christian Coster (a widow), Jan Stadnitski, and Rutger J. Schimmelpennick. 
These were the first members of the Company. The first general agent of 
the Holland Land Company was Theophilus Cazenove. But little is known 
of his history. When the Land Company made its first purchases in the 
interior of this State soon after the year 1790 he had arrived in this country 
and was engaged to act as their agent. Cazenove returned to Europe in 
1799, where he resided in London, and at a later period in Paris. Following 
him as general agent came Paul Busti, who was a native of Milan, Italy. He 
was born on October 17, 1749. He faithfully performed the duties of agent 



— 132- 

for 24 years. He died July 23, 1824. Mr. Busti was succeeded in office by 
John J. VanderKemp, who was a native of Leyden, Holland. His parents 
emigrated to the United States in 1788. The first local agent at Batavia was 
Joseph Ellicott. His agency ended in October, 1821. The corps of assist- 
ants under him were as follows: Peter Huidekoper and James Milner, clerks; 
Walter M. Seymour, cashier, and Ebenezer Mix, contractor. Jacob S. Otto 
succeeded Ellicott. He came from Philadelphia, and his agency extended 
from 1821 until the time of his death, 1826. The same assistants were under 
him. David E. Evans came in next. His agency continued until 1837, at 
which t'me the business interests of the Company had nearly reached their 
termination. The Company then sold out to Le Roy Redfield and others, 
and Heman J. Redfield was appointed agent. The services of Homer Kim- 
berly, H. I. Glowacki, Robert W. Lowber, Leander Mix, and John Lowber 
were secured, and the business was placed under their management. Later 
on this Company sold out to the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company of New 
York City. D. D. Williamson, president ot the Trust Company, filled the 
position of agent, and was assisted by Julius A. Smith, Homer Kimberly and 
Leander Mix, who acted as traveling agent, and later on was succeeded by 
David E E. Mix. Ebenezer Mix was in the employ of the Company for over 
20 years and Leander for 13. 

{Batavia Spirit of the Times.) 

At the close of the Revolutionary war the unsurveyed lands in Western 
New York belonged to the State of Massachusetts subject to the Indian title. 
In 1791 the great patriot, Robert Morris of Philadelphia, who had done so 
much for the cause of the Revolution, bought from Massachusetts nearly all 
the land lying west of the Genesee river. This great Morris tract became 
the County of Genesee. The word Genesee means in the Indian language 
" The Beautiful Valley." The name is peculiarly appropriate; for a finer 
region than the original county of Genesee is not to be found in the world. 
Its fertility is inexhaustible, and it is now a region of teeming prosperity. 

Morris made a treaty with the Indians in which they consented to give 
up their title to all the land except a few reservations of moderate size. 
Portions of those reservations are still held and occupied by the Indians. 
The one in the town of Alabama, in the present County of Genesee, was the 
residence of the famous Red Jacket, the Chief of the Six Nations. 

Morris had been very wealthy, but he had been so reduced by his losses 
in the Revolution that he was compelled to part with his land. He sold the 
greater portion of it in 1792 to a company of Hollanders, and the tract thus 
sold became known and famous as the " Holland Purchase." Morris sank 
into poverty, and occupied for years a debtor's prison. But he will ever 
rank with the purest and ablest patriots of the nation, and his name gives a 
sacred interest to the region that was once in his possession. 

The Hollanders employed Joseph Ellicott, an eminent surveyor, to sur- 
vey their lands and manage the sale of them. Mr. Ellicott continued in the 
position of agent for the Holland Land Company 21 years, and won great 
distinction by his remarkable executive ability. He was identified with all 
the enterprises of Western New York, including the construction of the Erie 
Canal, in which he took a great interest. 



—^33— 

He established his land office at Batavia in 1802 on the line of the Indian 
trail from the Canadas to Southern New York, and in the line of the immi- 
gration that was then moving westward. 

The Indians had a council ground within a few rods of the land office. 
The trail (now Ellicott street in Batavia) became known as the " Big Tree 
Road," on account of its passing by an enormous tree near Geneseo. The 
other road (now Main street in Batavia) became the main thoroughfare from 
Albany to Niagara Falls and Buffalo. 

The first land office was a wooden building, but it was replaced early in 
this century by the present substantial stone structure. Every settler on the 
Holland Purchase made many visits to this famous structure while paying 
for his beautiful home in the " Pleasant Valley." 

The building is therefore an object of household tradition in six coun- 
ties But it was the headquarters of the entire region in every respect. All 
enterprises were discussed and determined upon at Batavia. Mr. KUicott, 




JOSEPH ELLICOTT. 

as a sort of grand seignior, was expected to receive and entertain distin- 
guished visitors, and to be the leading spirit of the Purchase in all matters 
of common interest. He discharged all his functions so well that his name 
is remembered throughout the Purchase with admiration. 

Mr. Ellicott was succeeded in 1821 by Jacob S. Otto, who held the office 
of agent until his death in 1826. David E. Evans then became agent, and 
continued in the office until 1836. In i836Heman J. Redfield and Jacob Le 
Roy bought the interests of the Holland Companyin Genesee, Niagara, Erie 
and Wyoming counties. In 1839 Peter J. Van Hall of Amsterdam, Holland, 
came as the last agent of the Holland Company and closed out their inter- 
ests entirely in 1839. 

In 1839 Redfield and Pringle took charge of the Land Office and retain- 
ed it until shortly before the accounts with the sellers were closed. _^ Julius 



--i34~ 

H. Smith succeeded Redfield and Pringle, and in the final settlement of 
matters the Land Office passed into his hands. It was sold by him to Wil- 
liam G. Bryan, and has since passed through the hands of several other pur- 
chasers. A movement is now on foot to procure and preserve this famous 
building as a landmark of the history of a great region in a great country. 

Other names associated with the Land Office are those of Ebenezer Mix, 
the remarkable mathematician who had charge of all calculations and rec- 
ords of distances and bounds, Ebenezer Gary, the appraiser, and James Bris- 
bane, the commissary of provisions. 

Supplies were brought by way of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers to 
Rome, thence by portage to Oneida Lake, down the Oswego River to Lake 
Ontario, thence to Lewiston, from Lewiston to Batavia by wagon. 

The name Batavia is another name for Holland, and was so given be- 
cause it was the headquarters of the Holland Purchase. 

Through Morris the old building recalls the Revolution, and it has been 
associated with all the great history of the intervening period. It recalls 
the struggles of the pioneers who were helped to independence within its 
walls, and who looked upon it as their citadel and seignorial castle. 

The barony in the wilderness has become the scene of a most striking 
civilization. The old castle would fain hide its diminished head in the glare 
of modern wealth and prosperity. But its history gives it a value that 
modern wealth cannot buy. It stands for the Revolutionary patriot, the 
Revolutionary soldier, and the sturdy pioneer. It is as much an oddity as 
would be a cocked hat and a blue coat with with brass buttons walking down 
Broadway. But such oddities are precious ; they recall the debt that we owe 
to a past age. Morris, Ellicott, Otto, Evans, Van Hall, Redfield, Smith, and 
Lay sum up in a sense the history of the United States. It was all repre- 
sented in their careers and largely formed by them. 

{Batavia Daily News.) 

Joseph Ellicott's grandparents came to this country from Wales in 1731. 
He had three brothers — Andrew, older, and Benjamin and David, younger 
— and five sisters, three of whom married brothers named Evans. Andrew 
Ellicott became an eminent surveyor, was at one time Surveyor General of 
the United States, and at the time of his death was professor of mathematics 
at West Point. Benjamin Ellicott also was a surveyor, and for several years 
was in the service of the Holland Company as an assistant to his brother 
Joseph. He was once a Member of Congress (181 7-19). He was a bachelor 
and died a resident of Williamsville, Erie county, in 1827. The youngest 
brother, David, who likewise was once a surveyor on the Purchase, was er- 
ratic. He went South, and no tidings ever came of him. Andrew Ellicott 
had three sons — Andrew O., who died in Shelby, Orleans county; Joseph, 
who died in Batavia in 1839, and John B. Ellicott, whose death occurred in 
Batavia on August 27, 1872, at his home which stood on Main street, between 
Jackson and Center streets, the house he occupied now standing in the rear 
of G. D. Williamson's store. 

The descendants of the Ellicott family now residing in Batavia are Mrs. 
Mary J. Smith, daughter of John B. Ellicott, son of Andrew Ellicott, and her 



niece, Miss Eva Collamer ; Miss Mary L. Douglass, daughter of David B. 
Douglass and Ann E. Ellicott, a daughter of Andrew Ellicott, and her niece. 
Miss Annie Jarvis ; Mrs. Pierson and her sister. Miss Maria Hestoii, daughters 
of Samuel Heston, the son of Joseph Heston and Ann Evans, whose mother 
was Letitia Ellicott, a sister of Joseph Ellicott ; Mrs. Martha Potter, who re- 
sides in the western part of the town, and who is also a descendant of Letitia 
Ellicott. Other descendants of the Ellicott and Evans families are scattered 
throughout the country. 

Joseph Ellicott, of Holland Purchase fame, was only fourteen years of 
age when his father moved from Bucks county. Pa., to Maryland, and he en- 
joyed no other facilities for an education than the common!r schools "^of the 




ON THE LINE OF MARCH — THE LAND OFFICE VISTA. 



country afforded. His early lessons in surveying were given him by his broth- 
er Andrew, whom he assisted in the survey of the city of Washington soon af- 
ter the site had been selected for the National Capital. In 1791 he was ap- 
pointed by Timothy Pickering, then Secretary of War, to run the boundary 
line between Georgia and the Creek Indians. Subsequently, as previously 
told, he entered the services of the Holland company, continuing as its repre- 
sentative until 182 1, for many years of his association with it being in full 
charge of its affairs hereabouts, with his headquarters in the old Land Office 
that to-day, with ceremonials, was dedicated to the purposes of the Holland 
Purchase Historical Society. 

" In person," says Turner's History, " Mr. Ellicott was rather above the 
midling size — six feet three inches in height. In youth he was of spare hab- 



• ^3^- ■ 

its, but about the age of forty became corpulent. He had a strong constitu- 
tion, capable of much endurance, and enjoyed for the greater portion of his 
life uninterrupted health. 

Joseph EUicott's death occurred on August 19, 1S26, when he was 66 years 
old, and his remains lie in the Batavia Cemetery, a monument marking the 
spot. On its face, or west side, this monument bears an inscription chiseled 
in memory of Joseph Ellicott, but the greater part of this inscription has been 
effaced by the action of the elements. On the north side is an inscription in 
better condition in memory of Benjamin Ellicott, and beneath it is the an- 
nouncement that the monument was erected by the twin sister of Benjam- 
in, Rachel Evans, in May, 1849. North of the monument, but within the iron 
fence that surrounds it, are two graves marked by a double headstone, those 
of Benjamin Ellicott and his sister, Mrs. Evans. South of the monument is 
an unmarked grave, presumably that of Joseph Ellicott. The monument is 
32 feet high, its main shaft being 16}^ feet, and it was erected by B. and J. 
Carpenter of Lockport, the material coming from their quarry of limestones. 
Its condition shows the ravages of time. 

{Buffalo Express.) 

In the office of the Secretary of State there is to be found a large wooden 
box, marked on the lid: "Holland Land Papers." This box. which is of 
about the size of a carpenter's tool-chest, and is preserved with the greatest 
care, is full of interesting relics ot the settlement of Western New York, which 
would have added much to the exhibition made at the centennial celebration 
in Batavia. 

Within the b )x are many deeds and other legal instruments. The most 
important of them are these: A deed of the 1,500,000-acre tract, dated De- 
cember, 1792, from Robert Morris and Mary, his wife, to Herman Le Roy 
and John Lincklaen ; an agreement bearing the same date, between the same 
parties, by which the grantors may convert the contract of sale into a loan of 
money, in which case the conveyance is to ser*,'e as a mortgage; a notice, 
dated December, 1795, given by Le Roy and Lincklaen to Morris, of their 
election to consider the contract as a sale, and the conveyance as absolute and 
not by way of mortgage ; and a deed of the Sheriff of Ontario County, dated 
May, iSoo, to Thomas Ogden, for land taken as the property of Robert Mor- 
ris at the suit of William Talbot and William AUum. These papers, together 
with many others, are classified as " Deductions of Titles " to the 1,500,000- 
acre tract. Similar deductions also appear for the tracts containing re.spec- 
tively 1,000,000, Soo.ooo, 300,000, and 40,000 acres. 

Then there are numerous small books, of pocket size, that contain the field 
notes of the surveyors of 179S-9. All of these lead up to 15 books, of almost 
ledger size, bound m thick sheep-skin, each of wdiich is devoted to a *' range," 
whether it is filled or not. The number of the range is j^rinted on red leather 
on the back. Within each book are given the exact boundaries of the town- 
ships into which the range was divided- The boundaries are, for the most 
part, either trees or posts, the name of the wood being given in every case. 
Stone boundaries are noted at very rare intervals. Aside from the boundaries, 
the physical features of each township are described, and the whole is signed: 
"Joseph Ellicott, surveyor tor the Holland Land Company." The authentic- 



—137 — 

ity of the 15 range books was certified to by Samuel Nelson, Chief Justice of 
the Supreme Court of Judicature, on April 12, 1841. They were deposited 
with the Secretary of State, for safe keeping, by an act of the Legislature 
passed in 1839. The Secretary, John C. Spencer, acknowledges the receipt of 
the books, and also of the deeds and other papers, from J. J. Vander Kemp, 
general agent of the Holland Company. 

But most interesting of all is the original map of the Holland Company's 
tract. It is about eight feet square, on heavy paper backed with cloth. Time 
and use have not dealt kindly with it, but much of it is still legible. The 
scale seems to be about half an inch to the mile. The eastern boundary, 
known as " the transit line," was run in 179S. It started, on the Pennsylvania 
Ime, at the southeast corner of the Willink purchase, and ran directly north- 




A FIRE-PLACE IN THE LAND OFFICE. 



ward, ^crossing the Genesee River " at 21 miles going northwest and at 33 
miles going northeast," and reached Lake Ontario at a place known as " The 
Devil's Nose." The ranges, averaging about six miles in width, have boun- 
daries parallel with the transit line. They begin six miles west of that line, 
and they are numbered to the westward from i to 15, inclusive. The town- 
ships run from south to north, beginning at the Pennsylvania line, and they 
average six miles ^square. No range has more than 16 townships, and when 
the western end of the State is reached (in Chautauqua County, as it is now), 
the fifteenth range is only three townships high. The city of Bufifalo was the 
Toth and nth townships of range 15, and the city of Niagara Falls was in 
township 15 of the same range. 



Between the seventh and eighth ranges a strip about two miles wide runs 
from the Pennsylvania line northward to Lake Ontario. It pierces the pres- 
ent counties of Cattaraugus, Erie and Niagara; and it is marked as the prop- 
erty of Wilhelm and Jan Willink. The same persons are also credited with 
lo townships in the eastern and southern parts of the present Allegany Coun- 
ty. Between the first range and the transit line is a strip, about six miles 
wide, running from Pennsylvania to Lake Ontario. This is assigned, with 
the respective number of acres named, to the following: J. Sterrett, 5,000; A. 
Hamilton, 100,000; Cattinger, 39,784; Ogden, 32,784; Cragie, 3,375, and Wat- 
son Cragie, 100,000. The lands of Sterrett and Hamilton are in the present 
county of Allegany; those of Cattinger and Ogden in Wyoming, that of 
Craigie in Genesee, and that of Watson Cragie in Orleans. There are two 
parcels of land to the eastward of the transit line. The first, in the present 
Allegany county, has 150,000 acres, credited to S. Sterrett, the second is a 
triangle, of 76,173 acres, assigned to Le Roj', Bayard, and M^Evers. The 
northern boundary of the triangle is Lake Ontario, the western the transit 
line, and the third a diagonal beginning at the intersection of the southern 
line of the Phelps and Gorman purchase with the transit line, near the present 
village of Le Roy, and running northeasterly till it reaches Lake Ontario. 
The slanting boundaries of the eastern townships of Genesee Countv, and of 
the western townships of Monroe County, are laid along this diagonal line. 
All that part of the State was known to the province of New York as Tryon 
county, but, after 1 784, it was called Montgomery County. All to the west of 
the "pre-emption line" was made into Ontario County in 1788; and the pres- 
ent western counties have been taken from the original territory of Ontario 
County since that date. Steuben was taken in 1796, Genesee in 1S02, and 
Yates in 1823. Livingston and Monroe were formed from parts of Ontario 
and Livingston in 1821. Genesee, as originally constituted in 1802, embraced 
all of the Holland tract, but from its territory counties were carved as fol- 
lows: Allegany, 1806; Cattaraugus, Chautauqua and Niagara, 1808; Orleans, 
1824; and Wyoming in 1841. Erie was taken from Niagara in 1821. 

Much confusion has arisen in the minds of average readers as to "the 
Genesee Country," and a word of e.xplanation may be of interest. All through 
the Revolutionary war, and as late as 1789, that part of the State to the west 
of a line drawn north from about the site of the present city of Elmira, was 
known as the Genesee Country. The lands were claimed by both New York 
and Massachusetts, and over both of the claimants, the British forts at Os- 
wego and Niagara held a constant menace long after the close of the Revolu- 
tion. Simcoe, Governor of Upper Canada, protested against the settlement 
of the country " during the inexecution of the treaty that terminated the Revo- 
lutionary War." It was, indeed, a time of doubtful allegiances when the 
United States troops at Pittsburg were furnished with blankets by the British 
traders at the mouth of the Cuyahoga (Cleveland) ; and when, at the latter 
place, Ameiican farmers sold flour to the British posts along the Great Lakes. 
The British considered the treaty of 1783 a mere truce, to be followed by the 
speedy failure of the young republic and the restoration of the Colonies to 
England. There were, also, enough unfriendly Indians to make the life of a 
settler miserable. So bad was the reputation of the region that when ap- 
pr«Htices were bound, or slaves sold, it was expressly stipulated that they 



— ^39 

should not be taken to the Genesee Country. When Oliver Phelps, in 1788, 
left Connecticut to look after his claim, he was called a fool ; and the more 
religiously inclined followed him to the town limits with prayers and tears. 

Phelps, together with Daniel Gorham, also of Connecticut, had bought the 
entire tract west of " the pre-emption line," from Massachusetts for $1,000,000, 
or about 14 cents an acre for the 7,000,000 acres. This line ran northward 
from the 82d milestone on the Pennsylvania border until it met the waters of 
Lake Ontario. By later, and more accurate surveys, it proved to be almost 
the exact meridian of Washington. Massachusetts had resigned to New 
York all political jurisdiction over the territory to the west of this line, and 
situated within the State of New York ; but she reserved the pre-emptive 
right, so far as the Indians were concerned. In 1788 Phelps held a council 




T 




THE OLD ARSENEL. 



with the representatives of the Six Nations on the site of the present village of 
Canandaigua, and he bought their right to 2,500,000 acres in the tract, the 
Masachusetts title of which had already been vested in himself and Gorham. 
He then opened, in Canandaigua, the first land office in America for the sale 
of wild lands to actual settlers ; and his methods have since been adopted 
throughout the country. Meeting with financial difficulties, Phelps and Gor- 
ham were obliged to surrender all of the tract to which the Indian title had 
not been extinguished, and the greater part of it became the purchase of the 
Holland Company. 

The original Genesee Country, therefore, was a generic term that includ- 
ed the tract eventually known by that name, as well as the Holland tract and 



— 140 — 

other tracts. What was finally known as the Genesee Country, after the fail- 
ure of Phelps and Gorham, had an area of 2,200,000 acres. It was bounded 
by the pre-emption line on the east, and on the west by a line drawn through 
the " Big Elm " at the junction of Canaseraga Creek with the Genesee River, 
near the present village of Mount Morris. This line met the Pennsylvania 
line at the south. Two miles to the north of Canawagus (Avon), it turned at 
a right angle to the westward, and then followed the course of the (Jenesee 
River, at a distance of 12 miles, until it reached Lake Ontario. 

(£". L. Willard.) 

Coi'DKKsroRr, Pa., Dec. 16, 1S94. 

Through the kind courtesy of Mr. H. P. Woodward I am informed as to 
the objects and successes of your honorable Society. In return I state what I 
shall be able to furnish, although I have not them all collected in form to for- 
ward. This place being only a temporary staying place for me, I must re- 
peat largely from memory until such time as I shall return to my home and 
office in I'^hnira. The papers I have are some of them the originals, and 
others copies of some which can not be acquired, except for the purpose of 
copying. 

Owing to the laws of Pennsylvania, the Company was unable to take 
lands in that state as a corp:)ration or society, but they purchased under the 
separate names as follows (from memory): Wilhslm Willink, Ruter Jan 
Scheimmelpfennig, Hendrick Vallenhoven, Nicholas Von Stapherst, Jan Van 
Enghen, and Christian Van Enghen. There were also some lands purchased 
by ■' Ileman I^e Roy and Jan Lincklean, A. Z.," of Amsterdam, which were 
patented to " William Willink" and others.- 

On or abi)ut the 2d of February, 1792, these gentlemen purchased and 
paid for in part 1, 132 tracts of 950 a:res each, or about one million, one hun- 
dred and twenty-one thousand acres of lan;l, all lying north and west of the 
Susquehanna River, ths Tia:iaghten Creek anJ the Conewango River, in that 
part of Pennsylvania purchased from the Indians in 1782, and first opened for 
settlement in 1785, but immediately closed again until 1792, at -which time 
this purchase was male. These tracts are situated in all parts of this terri- 
tory described above. There were many litigations in regard to portions of 
the purchase, in the trial of which many important tmd interesting facts ap- 
pear, and which I shall be able to transmit copies to you. 

A curious fact (of which proof is negative, however, and consequently dif- 
ficult to transmit) is that the gentleman namei authorized one Paul Busti to 
act as their agent, and empowered him to act for them, but to this instrument 
so empowering him, the signatures of only three of the six appear affixed. It 
is presumed that the other three are dead, and were at the time of the execu- 
tion of the instrument, but no statement is made to that effect therein. Con- 
sequently, all the titles to this one million acres, derived from the Holland 
Company, are defective as to one undivided one-half interest. The Co'urts, 
however, are seldom compelled to take cognizance of this, but it has been ad- 
duced in evidence twice to my memory. The Company, immediately after 
the date of their purchase, caused surveys to be made of the entire tracts, and 
took possession, leaving, however, part of the purchase money unpaid, and a 



—141— 

part of this money is due and unpaid at the present day. This debt has long 
since become a lien against the land, collectable at any time since the ist of 
June, 1868, by the Attorney General. This is a little known fact, even to the 
present owners of the land against which the debt is a lien, and I believe no 
attempt has ever been made to collect any part of the same, although in sev- 
eral cases particular parts of the purchase have been paid for and e.Kempted. 
In my many years search of the titles and location of these tracts, I have fre- 
quently, I might say in hundreds of cases, gone upon the ground where these 
locations were made, to discover the marks made by the several siirv^eyors in 
locating and marking each 990 acre tract. I find by counting the growths of 
the trees, which have long since grown over the marks there made, that 
these surveys were made, and tlie marks put upon the trees in 1793 and 1794; 
by the papers in my possession I am enabled to state that these surveyors 




THE LAND OFFICE IN WINTER. 



were William Ellis of Muncy, John Brodhead, James Hunter, Samuel Stew- 
art, Joseph Eaton, William P. Brady, and Colonel Canan. 

With regard to the date of the erection of the office in Batavia, I have no 
papers that I know of ,nich have any bearing on the subject, but maj^ be 
able to assist you ^ the search for the same. 1 can say, however, that m ad- 
dition to the surveys made in 1793 and 1794, that in 1805 there were surveys 
made over the whole of the purchase in both States, which I believe to have 
been made by Mr. Andrew Ellicott of EUicottville. This gentleman com- 
pleted the surveys in New York State in the spring of 1805, and entered Penn- 
sylvania and re-surveyed the lands of the Company in this State. At that 
time the Company had Mr. Busti for then- agent, and were extensively oper- 



- 142— 

ating on these lands, building roads, etc. I presume they must have had the 
office at Batavia at that date. Mr. Ellicott did not return to return to New 
York, but became a prominent citizen of this State, and continued to act in 
the interest of the Holland Company. 

I will go to see some persons who will be able to tell me more of this office 
than I now know, and will send you whatever they may have. 

I have in my possession many pieces of trees taken as sections showing 
the notches made by the original surveyors at the corners of the tracts in the 
purchase, and showing the one hundred and one growths or rings since that 
time, as well as the mark made at that time. 

If this would be of interest I will forward you one or two, with the papers 
relating to the tracts from which the block is taken. I may say that the pa- 





REPOSE ON THE TONAWANDA. 



pers relating to each 990 acres are separate from those relating to each other 
990 acres, a practice differing from that of your own State. 

The surveys of 1805 have always been more or less of a mystery to those 
versed in the combined history and wood craft of this state, on account of the 
scarcity of papers showing the object of the extensive work. There is a 
volume of history connected with each of the one thousand tracts, but one of the 
most interesting is that relating to the litigation of the Company with George 
Meade, and of the same versus Robert Morris and John Nicholson ; also the 
objections of sundry citizens of Pennsylvania against the policy of allowing 
the great purchase to be consummated. 

These are some of the points of history covered by my information. If 



—143— 

you see anything in these facts or the papers relating to them that is of inter- 
est to you, I shall be glad to aid you in securing the original papers verifying 
the facts. Many of the papers are in the office of the Secretary of Internal 
Affairs, who furnishes certified copies of the originals. 

If these would be of interest, in the absence of the originals, I should be 
happy to be allowed to pay the Secretary the fees for the copies, and present 
the same to the Society, as verifying any points which may be dimly proven 
without them. 

Hoping that my earnest good wishes, added to what little I can do, may 
be appreciated, I remain respectfully yours. 

{Edward F. De Lancey.) 
I have deferred answering your invitation to attend as a guest the dedi- 




SIXTY MILES AN HOUR ON THE TONAWANDA. 

cation of the old Land Office at Batavia on the 13th of this month, in the hope 
that I might be present. Unfortunately I find I cannot be absent from this 
city at that time. I deeply regret that I cannot therefore accept your very 
polite invitation. I rejoice that the old building and its invaluable records 
will be preserved, to show the beginnings and settlement of that immense 
tract, which form so large a portion of the western half of this State. 

Having known, as a youth, some of Robert Morris's friends in Philadel- 
phia, and his confidential clerk during the Revolution, and friend and agent 
in Western New York, the late James Rees of Geneva, from whom I learned 
much of interest concerning him, his estate and misfortunes, to say nothing 
of many of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren being among my own 



—144—- 

friends, I am extremely sorry that I am prevented from being with you on 
this important occasion. 

(Z. W. Ledyard.) 

Will you kindly send me by return mail a program of the intended cele- 
bration, as I may feel an interest in attending. I am now the only person 
living that was connected with the Cazenovia establishment, although the 
concern passed into my father's ownership. He was the adopted son of Jan 
Van Lincklean, who came to this agency in 1792-3, and opened the lands m 
1822. 

{Hon. Cuthbert W. Pound.) 

On my return from New York yesterday I found your very kind invita- 
tion to myself and Mrs. Ponnd to attend the dedication of the old Land Office 
of the Holland Purchase to-day. 

I extremely regret that my engagements do not permit that we should 
accept the invitation. It is, however, with no small degree of interest, that I 
congratulate your Society upon its successful efforts to seciire the preserva- 
tion of this old land-mark. My grandfather was an early settler here, and oa 
my father's knee I learned to regard Turner's " History of the Holland Pur- 
chase " as a local classic. This memorial, so frought with recollections of the 
long struggle with nature which redeemed the Holland Purchase from the 
wilderness, is particularly significant to the children of those pioneers. 

I heartily wish your society and its undertakings a full measure of suc- 
cess. 

(Hon. James O. Putnam.) 

I had not the pleasure of meeting you on Saturday, when I could, in per- 
son, have given you my congratulations on the great success of the Morris 
memoi-ial enterprise. You can fairly say of it: Magna pars fu'. 

Its conception was original and not without an element of courage. 

Additional to the local virtue of the Morris memorial at Batavia, I believe 
its moral influence will lead to acts of National justice to a long, almost crim- 
inally, neglected character. 

Even Philadelphia must now feel her own honor is in question, and be 
moved to do justice to the memory of her great citizen. 

{IV. H. Sa?nson.) 

After the close of the Revolutionary war and the successful establishment 
of the independence of the colonies, there was a serious dispute between New 
York and Massachusetts regarding the land in what is now Western New 
York. Massachusetts claimed the title by virtue of a grant from James I. to 
the Plymouth company, made November 3, 1620, and New York claimed it by 
virtue of the grant of Charles II. to the Duke of York, dated March 12, 1664, 
and the voluntary submission of the Iroquois to the crown in 1684. 

Happily this dispute was amicably adjusted. By a compact dated De- 
cember 16, 17S6, signed by the commissioners representing the two States, 
New York secured the sovereignty and jurisdiction and Massachusetts the 
right to buy from the native Indians. 

* * * * * * -)(■ -X- * * 

Soon after making the purchase from Massachusetts, Mr. Morris resolved 



—us— 

to settle his son Thomas in the Genesee country, " as an evidence of his faith 
.in its value and prospects." Thomas Morris was 20 years of age. He had 
been educated at Geneva and Leipsic and was then reading law. In obedience 
tO the wishes of his father, he left Philadelphia in the early summer of 1791, 
aiid coming by way of Wilkesbarre and what was called " Sullivan's path," 
reached Newtown, where he attended Pickering's council and received from 
the Indians the name of O-te-ti-ana, which Red Jacket had borne in his 
younger days. Proceeding on his journey, Mr. Morris visited Niagara Falls. 
On his return, he passed through Canandaigua. The aspect of the little fron- 
tier village pleased him, and he resolved to make the place his home. Ar- 
ranging his affairs in the East, he left New York in March, 1792, and went to 




A REMINDER OF THE PIONEERS— THE HISTORICAL MUSEUM AT SILVER LAKE. 



Canandaigua. In 1793 he built a framed house, filled in with brick— one of 
the two framed houses m the state, west of Whitesboro. Mr. Morris was ad- 
mitted to the bar, and in 1794 attended the first court held at Canandaigua. 
He devoted much of his time to the care of his father's property and the set- 
tlement and development of Western New York, and v/as honored and es- 
teemed by the pioneers. In 1794, 1795 and 1796 he was a member of Assem- 
bly from Ontario county. For five years, beginning with 1796, he was a Sen- 
ator of the State of New York, and from December, 1801, till March, 1803, he 
was a Member of Congress — the first representative in Congress from that por- 
tion of the State of New York lying west of Seneca Lake. He shared in the 
financial reverses of his father and in 1804 appointed John Greig his attorney 



— J 46- - 

and removed to New York eity, where he practiced law until his deatliin 1848. 
Though Robert Morris desired a speedy settlement of his speculations 
with the Hollanders, it was not until 1796 that he asked President Washing- 
ton to order a treaty and appoint a commissioner to represent the United 
States. The delay in the application was very creditable, for it was due en- 
tirely to motives of public consideration. Morris's letter was as follows: 

PiiiLADKi.niiA, August 25. 1796. 
Sir — In the year 1791 I purchased from the State of Massachusetts a tract 
of country lying within the boundaries of the State of New York, which had 
been ceded by the latter to the former State, under the sanction and with the 
concurrence of the Congress of the United States. This tract of land is bound- 
ed to the east by the Genesee River, to the north by Lake Ontario, to the west 
partly by Lake Erie and partly by the boundary line of the Pennsylvania 
triangle, and to the south by the north boundary line of the State of Pennsyl- 
vania. A printed brief of the title I take the liberty to transmit herewith. 
To i:)erfect this title it is necessary to purchase of the Seneca nation of Indians 
their native right, which I should have done soon after the purchase was 
made of the State of Massachusetts, but that I felt myself restrained from do- 
ing so by motives of public consideration. The war between the Western In- 
dian nations and the United States did not extend to the Six Nations, of which 
the Seneca nation is one; and, as I apprehended that, if this nation should 
sell its rights during the existence of that war, they might the more readily be 
induced to join the enemies of our country, I was determined not to make 
the purchase whilst the war lasted. 

When peace was made with the Indian nations I turned my thoughts to" 
wards the purchase, which is to me an object very interesting; but upon it be- 
ing represented that a little longer patience, until the Western posts should 
be delivered up by the British government, might be public utility, I conclud- 
ed to wait for that event also, which is now happily accomplished, and there 
seems no obstacle to restrain me from making the purchase, especially as I 
have reason to believe the Indians are desirous of making the sale. 

The delays wliicli have already taken place and that arose solely from the 
considerations above mentioned, have been extremely detrimental to my pri- 
vate affairs; but, still being desirous to comply with formalities prescribed by 
certain laws of the United States, although those laws probably do not reach 
my case, I now make application to the President of the United States and 
I'equest tnat he will nominate and appoint a commissioner to be present and 
preside at a treaty, which he will be pleased to authorize to be held with the 
Seneca nation, for the purpose of enabling me to make a purchase in conform- 
ity with the formalities required by law, of the tract of country for which I 
have already paid a very large sum of money. My right to pre-emption is un- 
equivocal, and the land is become so necessary to the growing population and 
surrounding settlements that it is with difficulty that the white people can be 
restrained from squattering or settling down upon these lands, which if they 
should do, it may probably bring on contentions with the Six Nations. This 
will be prevented by a timely, fair, and honorable purchase. 

This proposed treaty ought to be held immediately before the hunting 
season, or another year will l)e lost, as the Indians cannot be collected dur- 



—147— 

ing that season. The loss of another year, under the payments thus made 
for these lands, would be ruinous to my affairs ; and as I have paid so great 
deference to public considerations whilst they did exist, I expect and hope 
that my request will be readily granted now, when there can be no cause for 
delay, especially if the Indians are willing to sell, which will be tested by the 
offer to buy. 

\!Vith the most perfect esteem and respect, I am, sir, your most obedient 
and most humble servant, Rouert Mokkis. 

George Washington, Esq., President of the United States. 

President Washins^ton appointed a member of Congress from New Jer- 
sey, named Isaac Smith, as the commissioner. But having been subsequent- 
ly appointed a judge of the Supreme court of his State, Mr. Smith found that 




THE EVANS MANSION— THE RIGHT WING OF THE BUILDING IS THE ORIGINAL 

HOLLAND LAND OFFICE. 



his judicial duties would prevent his attendance at the treaty ; accordingly 
he declined, and Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth, who had been a distinguish- 
ed member of Congress from Connecticut, was appointed in his place. 

Unable himself to take part in the treaty, Robert Morris appointed his 
son Thomas and Charles Williamson as his attorneys ; but Captain William- 
son, busy with his affairs at Bath, declined to act, and so the responsibility 
for conducting the difficult and delicate negotiations fell entirely upon the 
younger Morris. 

It was resolved to hold the treaty at Big Tree, near the settlement which 
afterwards became Geneseo. 

In meadow lands within the corporate limits of the village of Geneseo, 



- 148— 

southwest from the park, about a quarter of a mile above the Erie railroad, 
and about the same distance west of the Mt. Morris road, is a cobblestone 
house ; on the site of this building there stood, 100 years ago, a small dwell- 
ing erected by William and James Wadsworth. This was rented by Thomas 
Morris for the entertainment of the principal persons at the treaty. He also 
caused a large council house to be erected, covered with boughs and branches 
of trees. Doty's " History of Livingston County " says that the Indian vil- 
lage of Big Tree was west of the Genesee river, and that the big tree itself 
stood on the eastern bank. Some Geneseo antiquarians of to-day declare 
that the village was east of the Genesee. Both are correct, the explanation 
being that the village was moved. At the time of the treaty, however, the 
village was west of the Genesee. It not only appears so on the first map of 
the region made from actual surveys, but the treaty as agreed upondeclared 
that the reservation of Big Tree should embrace the village, and Ellicolt's 
map of 1804 shows the reservation to be west of the river. In 1805 the village 
was moved, and on the map showing the Phelps and Gorham purchase in 
1806, Big Tree village appears east of the Genesee. The probability is that 
the council house was erected on the eastern bank and Charles Jones, who 
derived his information from his father, Horatio Jones, who attended the 
treaty and took a prominent part in the negotiations, thinks it stood 500 feet 
northwest of the Wadsworth dwelling. 

The Indians began to arrive at Big Tree late in August, not the Senecas 
alone, but groups from the other nations — attracted, doubtless, by the hope 
of presents and the possibility of good living. Fifty-two Indians signed the 
treaty. ^lany of them were famous in Indian annals. Young King, Chief 
Warrior, Handsome Lake, the Prophet ; Farmer's Brother, Red Jacket, Lit- 
tle Billy, Pollard, the Infant, Cornplanter, Destroy Town, Little Beard, 
Blacksnake — these were the leaders of the Senecas at Big Tree, interesting 
men, all of them. Time will not permit me to give biographies. It seems 
necessary, however, to explain that there were two Indians known to the 
whites as Big Tree. 

Ga-on-(lah-go-waah, called sometimes Big Tree and sometimes Great 
Tree, was a full-blooded .Seneca of the Hawk clan and resided for many 
years at Big Tree village He attended the Buffalo treaty of July 8, 1788, 
when Phelps and Gorham made their purchase, and went to Philadelphia in 
the winter of 1790 with Cornplanter and Half Town to protest against what 
they regarded an unjust treatment from Phelps and his associates. He was 
there again with Red Jacket in 1792 and died in that city in April of that 
year. Consequently he did not attend the Big Tree treaty. This chief's 
daughter had a son whose father was a Niagara tradernamed Pollard. The 
boy grew up in the Indian village and became in time a famous chief. His 
name was Ga-on-do-wau-na, which also meant Big Tree. He made himself 
conspicuous in border warfare, and was at the massacre of Wyoming. He 
it was who signed the Big Tree treaty. As an orator he was but little inferior 
to Red Jacket, and his character was finer. After the death of Cornplanter 
he was, perhaps, the noblest of the Senecas. He was among the first In- 
dians on the Buffalo Creek reservation to embrace the truths of Christianity, 
and thereafter his life was singularly blameless and beneficent. He was 



—149— 

sometimes called Colonel John Pollard. He died on the reservation April 
lo, 1841, and was buried in the old Mission cemetery. 

Thomas Morris reached the Genesee on August 22d. The commission- 
ers arrived four days later, Colonel Jeremiah Wadsworth to represent the 
United States and General William Shepherd to represent the common- 
wealth of Massachusetts. Captain Israel Chapin, who had succeded his 
father, General Israel Chapin, as superintendent of Indian affairs, attended; 
James Rees, subsequently of Geneva, was there and acted as secretary, and 
among other white men who attended, and were greatly interested in the 
negotiations, were William Bayard of New York, the agent of the Holland 
Land Company ; two young gentlemen from Holland named Van Staphorst, 




THE REDFIELD RESIDENCE. 



near relatives of the Van Staphorst who was one of the principal members of 
the Holland Company, Nathaniel W. Howell, Jasper Parrish, and Horatio 

Jones. 

The council was formally opened at i o'clock on the afternoon of August 
28, 1797. Cornplanter spoke first. Turning to Thomas Morris, he acknowl- 
edged the speech of invitation conveyed by Jasper Parrish and Horatio 
Jones, and returned the string of wampum that had reached him with the 
invitation to the treaty. Then the commissioners from the United States 
and Massachusetts presented their credentials and addressed the assembly, 



— J50-' 

assuring the Indians that their interests would be duly guarded and that no 
injustice would be done. 

******** * 

Within a short time an agreement was reached, and the 
Indian lands west of the Genesee, excepting ten reservations em- 
bracing 337 square miles, were sold to Robert Morris for $100,000, 
to be invested in the stock of the Bank of the United States, and held in the 
name of the President for the benefit of the Indians. The treaty was signed 
on September 15, 1797. 

{W. B. Tiirpin.) 

Is the " Society of the War of 181 2 " to be represented in your forthcom- 
ing celebration ? Being a member of that Society and a descendant of a 
participant in that war who was quartered in the old Land Office after the 
retreat from the Niagara frontier, I should be glad to attend the dedication 
of the historic building as a representative of the Society of 1812. 

{General ]Villiani H. Seward.) 

I feel much complimented by your kind invitation to be present at the 
celebration of the Holland Purchase Historical Society, and regret deeply 
my inability to attend, especially as my father was so closely connected in 
business interests with one of its largest tracts of land in this State, while he 
acted as agent for Messrs. Gary, Lay, and Schermerhorn, who bought the 
Chautauqua County lands from the Holland Company and sent my father, 
during the disturbing times of 1836, to Chautauqua to look after their in- 
terests. 

I do not think he was ever the attorney for the Holland Land Company, 
as you suggest ; and as I have found several letters written by himself at 
the time which graphically describe the condition at that time and his con- 
nection with the lands in Chautauqua County, I take the liberty of quoting 
to you portions of the letters, which I trust will be of interest to you and 
possibly to others of the Historical Society. 

In response to a request, of Messrs. Gary, Lay, and Schermerhorn, to 
undertake the settlement of their affairs in connection with the lands they 
had purchased from the Holland Company in Chautauqua, my father went 
to Batavia, where he arrived on the 28th of June, 1836, where he met his 
clients and Mr. Evans, the general agent of the Holland Land Company, 
whose principal office was in Batavia. Writing home on the following day, 
he described the condition of affairs found at Batavia as follows : 

" I have seen enough of the affairs which call me here to know that they 
are much more deranged than I supposed, or than is understood by my em- 
ployers. The whole tract of the Holland Land Company's lands, compris- 
ing seven counties, is in a state of great excitement. The disorganizing spirit 
is abroad, and men indulge fearful thoughts and dangerous purposes. 

"There is a sub-Land Office in each county, and the general Land Office 
here. These offices contain the records and contracts. A desperate party 
have heretofore dared to seek the destruction of all the records and con- 



-151— 

tracts, and, through that means, to relieve their lands from the debts wihch 
encumber them. The Chautauqua office has long since been burned, with 
all its valuable papers. The agent is here, driven from his post by terror. 
The Land Office here has been fortified. It is full of arms, and armed men 
keep guard. A block house is erected on each side of it. Conventions of 
the people are held, almost weekly, in the different counties, in opposition to 
the company. This, however, is the dark side. If I read aright the con. 
ditions around me, the excitement is passing off, and men will return to a 
more tranquil state. 

"The village is small, although there are some rich families. Mr Evans 
and his family have a fine house and extensive garden and grounds. They 
are, in virtue of his great wealth and his great office, " General Agent of ihe 




A CORNER ON THE LINE OF MARCH. 

'" Towers aad battlements it sees. 
Bosomed high in tufted trees.'' 

Holland Land Company," at the head of the society. He is an unassuming, 
intelligent, and worthy man. Both he and Mrs. Evans grace their position 
by native modesty and the absence of all affectation." 

A few days later, on July 3d, and after he had had time to examine into 
the condition of affairs in Batavia more thoroughly, he again writes, describ- 
ing the nature of his clients' interest which he is to look after, as follows: 

" As I anticipated, I have found the condition of things in regard to my 
agency here quite confued. The true state of them is about as follows: 



—152- 

Messrs. Cary and Lay made a verbal agreement with Mr. Van der Kamp, at 
Philadelphia, the general agent of the Holland Land Company, for the pur- 
chase of all the interest and estate of the company in Chautauqua at about a 
million dollars. 

"The purchase of the interest of the company in the other counties about 
the same time by other purchasers made a great excitement. All the other 
purchasers first, and Cary and Lay after them, undertook to raise the price 
by demanding a per acre advance upon forfeited contracts. This produced 
that commotion which has pervaded the whole country, and the outbreakings 
of which were seen in the destruction of the land office at Mayville, and the 
irruption into this place for the purpose of destroying the land oTice here. 
During the year 1835, the settlers paid largely and freely upon their lands. 
Almost a quarter of Cary's and Lay's debt was actually paid by the settlers. 
But the excitement put an end to these payments; and a set of demagogues 
and agrarians, taking advantage of the excited state of the public mind, have 
endeavored to induce the settlers to go in for an acquisition of their lands 
without payment for them. This was to be accomplished on the ground that 
the Holland Land Company had no title, and the means to be used weie to 
nullify the judgments of the courts and destroy the records of the convey- 
ances and contracts. 

"In the mean time, Cary and Lay had not executed their contract with the 
Holland Land Company, although they have paid fifty th jusand djUars out 
of their private funds, which, together with the payments derived from the 
lands, exceeds the first payment on their agreement. 

"The indications are believed to be that the excitement is subsiding. A 
county convention has been held in Chautauqua, ani has res )lved that the 
proprietors be requested to re-establish their office th^re. It was my inten- 
tion to do so to-morrow, but I find it necessary now to have copies made of 
the books relating to the Chautauqua lands kept in this office, all the books 
having been destroyed with the office in Chautauqua. I have procured an 
extra force to be employed upon the books, and we hope to get them ready 
so that I can go next week to Mayville." 

Three weeks later my father left Batavia for Chautauqua County, taking 
the necessary books and papers prepared to enter upon his duties after 
selecting the proper place in the county to open a new land office in place of 
the one which had been burned by a mob at Mayville From VVestfield, 
after a short trip to Mayville in response to earnest requests of the citizens 
there to re-establish the old office at Mayville, he writes as follows: 

" At 4 o'clock on Friday, we passed over to Mayville, the county town, 
and the locality of the old office. It lies at the head of Chautauqua Lake. 
That lake is seven hundred feet above the level of Lake Erie, and sends its 
waters into the Ohio through the Alleghany River. The road to Mayville 
crosses the ridge, which rises about four miles from the shore of Lake Erie, 
and stretches along the whole length of the southern shore. Nature ha^- few 
more beautiful scenes than that which is displayed on this road The lake 
is twenty miles lung, and seems to rest in the bosom of a valley, formed bv 
high hills, covered with forests on all sides. The village of Mayville con- 
tains scarcely more than fifty houses. We found a tavern and stores, a good 
court house and clerk's office, and the ruins of the old Land Office as they 



J 53 



V. 



were left by the mob. Birdsall was very glad to see us, showed us the rooms 
in the Court House he had selected for my office, and the house in which I 
was to board. Neither he nor the other inhabitants of Mayville seem to have 
suspected that the office could be established elsewhere. My observation of 
Mayville resulted in the conviction that it would be a most uncomfortable 
residence, that it was an unprofitable place for the sale of lands, that its 
secluded position subjected it to the control of turbulent spirits who lived in 
the hills around it, and that, if I meant to be independent of the dictation of 
those who assume to direct the land agency by popular votes, I must avoid 
placing myseif within their power. 

"After hearing all that could be urged against these views, I decided to 





^ii& 







ON THE LINE OF MARCH — EAST MAIN STREET FROM THE HOTEL RICHMOND. 



return to Westfield. It was a sad blow to Mayville, for the land office was 
the principal source of its importance and business. Birdsall regarded it 
in a proper light, and behaves, as he always does, with magnanimity. Some 
of the other citizens were gloomy and excited. They warned me of con- 
sequences which they intended to produce. They assured me that I must be 
prepared for "agitation" They are to call conventions, and submit the 
question to the people, and procure resolutions to be passed that they will 
pay no money into the office until it is established at Mayville. Of course, 
these threats only confirm my conviction of the correctness of the deter- 
mination I had made; nor did 1 find that conviction shaken by the menace 
that my office should not stand here two months." 



-154- 

Having decided to locate the land office at Westfield. he immediately 
commenced business there, and on July 29th, in a letter home, briefly de- 
scribed the feeling existing against him for this determination as follows: 

" What with the solicitude I have felt from the indications around me 
for the result of the bold undertaking to restore peace m this excited coun- 
try, and my preparation for future duties, I have suffered delay in writing to 
you. 

" I wrote you that I had located here. This greatly grieved the people of 
Mayville ; they became very much excited ; and although they had sustain- 
ed the laws and denounced the riots while the office was among them, they 
now appealed to the passions of the people, threatened every obstruction to 
our business, and courted disorder and outrage. Birdsall's excellent good 
sense and valuable influence have aided me much in allaying this storm. I 
went yesterday to Mayviile, and thence by steamboat on Chautauqua Lake 
to Jamestown, and have seen most of the respectable and influential men in 
the county, besides many of the debtors, and 1 do not now apprehend diffi' 
culties." 

He found his labors at Westfield engrossed nearly all his time, but evi- 
dently enjoyed the excitement, as his letter of September 10th shows: 

'■ At the close of a very laborious week 1 am still surrounded by gar- 
rulous people, who distract me while I try to write. 1 have had experience 
enough this week in my new calling to learn that while it lasts, I am to en- 
joy little of that rest that 1 might have anticipated. From seven, and often 
from six, in the morning, until eight, or nine, or ten o'cl jck in the evening, 
we are constantly transacting business in a crowd; and my own cares of su. 
perintendence of our financial concerns, with other labors, engross all my 
hours except the few devoted to sleep. Nevertheless, 1 like it thus far bet- 
ter than the perplexed life 1 led at home. Our business is simple ; it involves 
no intricate study, and is attended with none of that consuming solicitude 
that has rendered my profession a constant slavery. 

" My health continues good ; and 1 feel that, if I derive no other advan- 
tage from the change, I am abundantly repaid. The excitement is fast sub- 
siding around me; and, if you could see me among the people here, you 
would almost suppose that I had always lived happily among them. 

" Among my visitors to-day was one poor fellow, who spent an hour in 
deploring (to the infinite edification of a promiscuous audience) the error of 
marrying a widow, two ehildren, and one hundred and ninety-five acres of 
land ; the wife caring, as he says, all for the children and none for him, and 
the children claiming and taking all the land." 

Although the excitement in the county had greatly subsided, there were 
frequent rumors of outbreaks, and it took some time for the dissatisfaction 
of the settlers to subside, as shown in his letter of September 20th which 
describes a rumored outbreak that was feared at the date of the annual mili- 
tary parade, as follows: 

" I am to amuse you now with the adventures of an eventful season^ 
On Sunday night, Bradley, being alone with me, told me of terrific insinua- 
tions and menaces uttered in the office on Saturday ; and, among other things, 
that a person came from Ripley expressly to warn me that to-night or to-day 
a mob was to come to destroy the office. I discovered that they were both 



— 155— 

alarmed, but soothed their fears, and passed on. Yesterday morning, James 
Jackson a merchant of great respectability in Ripley, called nie out of bed 
at six o'clock to warn me that a mob was to come to-night from Gerry to 
destroy my office and shoot me. He recommended the suspension of all 
business to-day, and that I should take shelter in his house five miles distant. 
I grieved him by resolving to stay and be killed, which he said, truly, would 
be a dreadful thing. Having learned from him that the storm that he feared 
was to come from Gerry, I procured yesterday a confidential person to 
reconnoiter there last night. I secured the attendance of the sheriff through 
the day, and at an early hour this morning caused all the most valuable 
papers and books to be transferred from the office to my private room. On 
opening the office this morn'ng, two men came fraught with the news of the 




ON THE LINE OF MARCH — COURT HOUSE PARK AND HOTEL RICHMOND. 



intended assault. The militia assembled, and not less than a thousand 
people, apparently to witness the parade. Business pressed us all day, for 
the people availed themselves of the occasion to transact it. My messenger 
returned from Gerry, and reported that all was quiet and the people all 
satisfied. The crowd have dispersed, and Haight and Bradley have forgot- 
ten their fears in a sound sleep, as I shall do after having told you the 
perils of the day." 

By October 7th, the affairs in Chautauqua County had become fairly set- 
tled, so that he could then see that his undertaking was approaching its 
completion, and so wrote on that day. 

" Order begins to come out of the confusion into which the land office has 



^56- 

been plunged. The murmurs of discontent are dying away, and I think 
another month or two will bring the whole estate into a manageable condi- 
tion. After that there will be no great cause for solicitude, and I shall be 
able to be more at home with you. Even now I am able commonly to leave 
the office at dark and spend the evening here." 

Early in November he had completed the settlement of the affairs for 
his clients in Chautauqua Coimty and was able to return home. 

Trumbull Gary was a life-long friend of my father's, and during over 
thirty years they were intimately connected in politics and business. There 
are any number of letters written by my father which speak of the delightful 
entertainment he has received from Mr. Gary and at his home in Batavia, 
aside from those which have reference to his connection with 
the Holland Land Gompany. Mr Gary was probably the most import- 
ant man of that part of the state at the time my father went there in 1836; 
and while enjoying the hospitality of his house then and afterwards, my 
father's acquaintance at Batavia included nearly all of the old families that 
were residents there at that time; and had I time to look through all his let- 
ters, I know I should find many relating to that and his other visits at Bata- 
via. It is on that account that I am the more sorry that I cannot attend the 
celebration and meet the members of the old families who were his friends 
in those days and whom 1 have often heard mentioned by him. 

{Leander Mix ) 

In 1S35 a mob of the settlers of the Holland Gimipany's lands came to 
the conclusion that by destroying the records of tlu Land Office they would 
get their lands free They tore down the Land Office at Mayville, Lhautau- 
qua county, N. Y., but after destroying the records found out that the ori- 
ginals were in the Lard Office at Batavia. In the winter of 1835 and 1836 
the agent at Batavia had the books and papers packed and taken to Roch- 
ester and stored in a stone warehouse on the canal. Before spring R. W. 
Lowber, H.I. Glowarki and Leander Mix transferred them back to the of- 
fice. On the 13th of May, 1836, a mob from Allegany, Gattaraugus, Chau- 
tauqua and Erie counties organized for the purpose of destroying the Land 
Office and papers at Batavia. The agent being informed on the night of 
the I2th that they were coming notified the sheriff, Nathan Townsend. He 
ordered out the militia and had them stationed at the old Court House and 
jail. There were about 'thirty men at the Land Office on duty at the same 
time. The planks in the old bridge were taken up as the mob was coming 
in on the Alexander road. Just before daylight the planks were put down 
and a committee was formed to go up the road and see where they were. I 
was with the committee in a hack. Just as we got across the bridge we 
heard parties coming on horseback. I raised up my musket and called out, 
"stop, or I will fire." A reply came, " don't fire, it is I, Mr. Moulton come 
to tell you the mob is coming." He then came up and said the men were in 
Fargo's Tavern helping themselves to liquors, food and tobacco. He had 
heard them say that they were going to have David E. Evans', agent, and 
Ebenezer Mix's pluck, to grease their muskets with before they went back, 
as Mr. Mix caniod all the details of the Land Office in his head. We re- 



turned to the Land Office and planked the lower doors and windows with 
three-inch planks and then placed six men at each window with muskets. I 
was at one of the front windows. 

Shortly after daylig-ht about three hundred men marched across the 
bridge and came down in front of the Office and halted. The Sheriff, accom- 
panied by his posse, at once stepped in front of the mob and informed them 
that they stood on dangerous ground and were in imminent danger of get- 
ting hurt. His words were so impressive that the leaders of the mob march- 
ed their men down below the Oak Orchard road, where, after holding a par- 
ley, the army disbanded and mixed with the Batavia citizens. The Sheriff 
at once arrested many of the men and placed them in the jail. Guards were 
also formed to protect village property as well as the Land Office, and it was 




BRISBANE CURVE — AT THE JUNCTION OF THE INDIAN TRAILS — SITE OF THE OLD FRONTIER 

HOUSE^THE LAND OFFICE IN THE DISTANCE. 



many days before these guards were relieved. I stayed at the Land Office 
night and day until the agent had two block houses built, one on the north- 
east corner, and the other on the southwest corner. He then hired guards 
to protect the property. Altogether I was employed in the Land Office for 
about thirteen years, and I think that of all the old clerks H. L Glowacki 
and myself are the only ones living. 

{George H. H olden.) 

The day of the mob was a thrilling one. There was a prospect of much 
bloodshed. But great preparation and firmness in the crisis brought about a 



peaceful ending^. 1 think I was the only one hit. But I was hit hard. In 
fact, I got the worst licking- that I ever received in my life for running' away 
from school with a lot of other check-aproned urchins to see a little history 
made. 

The first part of the battle-field I visited was the court house park. It 
was one mass of artillery and military. There were four or five six pound- 
ers, and one long twelve pounder. The long Tom had first been planted 
down by the bridge, but was subsequently brought up to the rest. 

The men were expecting immediate action, and were busily loading 
their muskets. Augustus Cowdin had but one leg, and balancing himself on 
his crutch, he hastily shoved a cartridge into his musket, but he forgot to 
bite off the paper In those days a man could not be a soldier unless he had 
good teeth. Augustus forgot that he had put in a cartridge, so he put in 
another in just the same way. As he shoved in the third one I called out to 
him that he was not loading his gun right. He turned on me a look of dis- 
gust and said : " Young fellow, what do you know about it.'' " 

The invaders were down at the bridge ; and like a young simpleton I went 
down to look them over. But my rashness was nothing to that of Ur. Cary. 
He was riding around on one of his favorite black horses, and he rode over 
the bridge and right into the midst of the raiders. I trembled for him ; but 
they spared him. 1 was right by when their commander, " One eyed Hill," 
as we called him, gave the order to load guns And they did it in down- 
right earnest. 1 was impressed with the steadiness with which they formed 
their lines and marched across the bridge. The oldest veteran soldiers 
could not have improved upon it. Those fellows meant to fight, and would 
have done it if there had been a ghost of a chance for them. As they march- 
ed along with such an appearance of determination a man right at my side, 
who happened to recognize one of them, called out: " What did you come 
here for, John?" " 1 have come here to get old David Evans's gullet to 
grease my gun witli." 

I rushed on up t > the Land Office. The troops were drawn up in two 
lines, extending from the creek across the road. As the mob rame up I saw 
the guns come down to a level, the guns of the rear rank pointing between 
the necks of the men in front. Other muskets were sticking out ot the Land 
Office in all directions. It seemed as though there was not two inches of 
space anywhere without a musket. Had they fired, the slaughter would have 
been simply awful. The mob halted as the muskets came down ; and after 
a moment I saw Hill give a signal to bear around to the right. The order 
to recover arms was given, and the bloodless battle was over. I followed 
the defeated army. They went out West Main street to the green in front 
of the old arsenal, and lay down for awhile. They then arose and dispersed. 

The civil power now appeared on the scene ; constables were makingar- 
rests right and left. I saw the great Hill arrested. He and another one 
were riding along in a wagon. Constable Moore arrested them, and tried 
in vain to get them out of the wagon. Just then Jerome Clark happened 
along, and Moore appealed to him to help him with his prisoners. Clark 
grabbed them both at once, and, bracing himself against the wagon, pulled 
them both to the ground. He then led them away chop-fallen to the justice, 
who committed them. Clark's son, Delancey, was one of the class of '94 of 



— ^59— 

the hisfh school, who raised the 'money that bouq-ht the old Land Office 
I then went home and got my licking. And the whole thing made such 
a striking impression on my mind that I can see it all to-day as vividly as I 
did that day that I was galavanting around in my check apron. 

{Simeon D. Lewis.) 

From the time of Joseph Ellicott's appointment as the local agent of the 
Holland Company in 1800, to his resignation in 1821, he was uniformly very 
lenient in his treatment of the purchasers of the company's lands. Numer- 
ous instances could be cited to show where contracts were extended or re- 
newed, upon terms regardless of accumulations of unpaid interest, and a 
general policy of aid and encouragement toward the pioneers was adopted 




A SIDE GLIMPSE FROM THE LINE OF MARCH— NORTH FROM TONAWANDA BRIDGE. 



and practised, in the administration of his trust This liberal policy was 
continued by his successors, Jacob S. Otto and David E. Evans. In one re- 
spect Mr. Otto organized still a new plan to aid the settlers, by accepting at 
a stated price, cattle and grain in payment on contracts and mortgages, thus 
enabling the debtors of the company to make their payments, when there 
was no cash market for the products of their farms. I think that I am cor- 
rect in saying that this practice was continued by his successor, Mr. Evans. 

One of the results of this liberal policy seems to have been that many of 
the settlers came to claim as a right what had for years been thus granted 
as a generous concession. 

In December, 1S35, the Holland Company contracted to sell to Heman J. 



— i6o — '■ 

Redfiield and Jacob Le Roy, all of their unsold lands, and January g, 1836. 
Messrs. Redfield and Le Roy assigned this contract to the Farmers' Loan and 
Trust Company of New York. 

October 10, 1836, the Holland Land Company executed a tripartite deed, 
conveying these lands to Redtield and Le Roy, parties of the second part, and 
the Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, parties of the the third part. 

Soon after this contract was made by the Holland company, and before 
the execution of this deed, baseless rumors began to be circulated, stating 
that the new company intended to adopt a more stringent policy than that 
which had formerly prevailed, and that no more renewals or extensions of 
contract would be made without the payment of a certain stipulated sum. 

In every community, even now. one can easily find people who seem to 
take great pleasure in circulating unwelcome news ; and in the case under 
consideration, there was no lack of men who, from motives of mischief or 
malice, circulated this rumor industriously. It is safe also to assume that it 
lost nothing in being repeated. We must remember that at the time under 
consideration there were no telegraphs or telephones. What is now the New 
York Central Railroad did not reach Batavia even, until later in this year 
1836. Mails were infrequent and irregular, and comparatively few newspa- 
pers were in circulation. Indeed, means of communication were far from 
what we now possess. Perhaps it is not strange, therefore, that the circulation 
of these rumors should have produced great excitement in parts of the Pur- 
chase somewhat remote from the Batavia office; and the number of what were 
termed nullifiers increased rapidly, despite the wiser counsels of cooler and 
more intelligent citizens. 

The first open outbreak was made February 6, 1S36, when a mob made a 
raid on the branch office at Mayville, Chautauqua county, seized the records 
and burned them in the public highway. Afterwards a plan was arranged, 
more formidable in proportions, to loot the mam office at Batavia. About 
May 13th of this same year, something like seven hundred armed men march- 
ed to Batavia "breathing threatenings and slaughter." In the meantime 
Mr. Evans, the company's agent, had not been sleeping. He wa> a bold, de- 
termined, energetic man, and had kept himself thoroughly posted as to the 
situation. When, therefore, this company reached Batavia, they found the 
Land Office well fortified and fifty armed men within. They also lound that 
the Sheriff had called out the militia, and had them drawn up iii line on the 
opposite side of the street. When they saw the preparations to give them a 
warm reception, they seemed to think " discretion the better part of valor," 
and doubtless believing that, 

" He who fl<;hts and runs away, 
May live to tight some other day," 

they marched back home again without offering any violence. Some fifty or 
sixty arrests were made of men who were supposed to be the ring-leaders of 
this party, but most of them were discharged without prosecution. When 
we consider the intense excitement that prevailed, it is not strange that some 
persons were arrested who were entirely innocent of any part in the matter. 
Mutual explanations soon corrected the misunderstandings that had pre- 
vailed. Most of the citizens were convinced that the extravagant stories 



- i6i— 

which had been circulated had been unfounded, and became satisfied that 
they had acted hastily and without reason. There were exceptions, however, 
to this, and ten or twelve years later, when I was sent out collecting for the 
Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, it was no unusual thing to find men 
along the border of Holland and Sardinia, in Erie county, who pretended to 
dispute the validity of the title of the company to their lands, and many of 
whom politely informed me that their rifle was a good enough deed of their 
farm. I think it very doubtful whether such a person could now be found, 
and history, which finally gives justice to all, must record the indisputable 
fact, that the policy of the Holland Land Company and their successors, was 
liberal, and their treatment ot the pioneers, considerate and generous; that in 
fact, in many instances, it may well be characterized as merciful. 




ACROSS THE STREET FROM THE LAND OFFICE AREA — THE WATSON RESIDENCE. 



( Contributed ) 

OLD GENESEE. 
(Tune of A Thousand Year.s.) 

During a hundred years, what changes. 
Where the red monarch roamed so free, 

Holding his birth-right undisputed. 
In the dark wilds of Genesee. 

A hundred years what wondrous changes. 
From the wild forests now made free. 

Rich golden fields, and flying chariots, 
Crown the broad lands of Genesee. 



162 — 

During a huudrcd years, wliat changes. 

Where the beasts held their jubilee; 
Ranging the forests unmolested, 

Wild hunting grounds no more we see; 
Long have the buck and roe been strangers, 

In the woodlands of Genesee. 

During a hundred years, whit changes, 
Pioneer hands have wrought we see; 

Turning to fruitful fields, wild forests. 
Fountains of wealth in Genesee. 

Walls of a hundred years are standing. 
Kept as an ancient landmark free; 

Long may tliey be an honored relic. 
Safe in the heart ef G^nes^e. 




NEAR THE SPEAKER S STAND. 



Philadelphia, December 30, 1776. 

"Sir — I have just received your favor of this day, and sent to Gen. Put- 
nam to detain the express tintil I collected the hard money you want, which 
yott may depend shall be sent in one specie or other with this letter, and a list 
thereof shall be enclosed herein. I had long since parted with very consider- 
able sums of hard money to Congress, and therefore must collect from others 
— and as matters now stand, it is no easy thing. I mean to borrow silver and 
promise payment in gold, and then collect the gold the best way I can. . . . 

I am dear sir, yours, etc.. 

ROBERT MORRIS." 



—i6j- 



When Washington re-crossed the Delaware for the second time, in Dec, 
1776, the time of service of nearly all the eastern troops had expired. To in- 
duce them to engage for another six weeks, he promised a bounty of $10 each ; 
and for the necessary funds applied to Mr. Morris. In the answer of Mr. 
Morris, accompanying the sum of fifty thousand dollars, he congratulates the 
commander-in-chief upon his success in retaining the men, and assures him 
that if ' 'farther occasional supplies of money are wanted, you may depend on 
my exertions either m a public or private capacity." 

In 1781 (a period of despair), in addition to other contributions of money 
and credit, Mr. Morris supplied the almost famishing troops with several 
thousand barrels of flour. This timely aid came when it was seriously con- 
templated to authorize the seizure of provisions wherever they could be found ; 



W**' 





NEAR THE SPEAKER S STAND. 

a measure which would have been unpopular with the whole country, and 
probably turned back the tide of public feeling flowing in favor of the Revo- 
lution. 

There is upon record a long catalogue of transactions similar to those 
which have been related. Not only the commander-in-chief but generals of 
divisions, found Mr. Morris the dernier resort when money and provisions 
were wanted. In financial negotiations, with him to will a thing was to do it. 
— O. Turner. 

( George H. Holden) 

My grandfather, Capt. James Holden, came to Batavia with his family m 
1803. He lived in a white bouse just across the creek from the land office. 



■ 164- 

Me had been in the Revolutionary war. Was present at the Battle of Bunker 
Hill. I have heard him describe that battle many times. It was very amus- 
ing to hear him describe tlie battle. He always got intensely excited when 
describing that struggle. His eyes would glitter, and he would prance 
around the room. " Our powder gave out; but, confound them ! we clubbed 
our muskets and made it as warm for them as we could." He had nine sons 
and three daughters. Five of the sons were out in the war of 18 12. One 
morning my father saw a man rush out of the woods west of our house with- 
out hat, coat, vest, or shoes. When the excited individual came up, he found 
that it was his own brother, who had run all the way from the Niagara river 
to give the alarm that the British were coming. The inhabitants all fled to 
Canandaigua. Our folks buried their silver when they fled ; but it was found by 




THE RICHMOND MEMORIAL LIBRARY. 

some recruits that were passing through to the front, and was all taken but 
one spoon, which I now have in my possession. The spoon seems to have 
been made by hammering. My grandfather on my mother's side, General 
Towner, thought he would not run with the rest of them. He gathered 
together some militia, and took a stand northwest of Batavia to protect the 
town. But the British did not come. 

As my father was only fifteen they thought he had better stay at home. 
But the war got him. In 1S13 he was hauling stone for the old ansenal when 
General Scott's officers canie along and impressed his team and him. He was 
sent to Albany to bring on supplies. He got a land warrant for eighty acres 
of land for this involuntary service. He said that was the only time that 
lightning ever struck him. 



-1 65- 

One of my father's brothers became accidentally a hero at Black Rock. 
The Americans were keeping a sharj? watch day and night against surprise. 
One evening my uncle was in a squad that was reconnoitering with lanterns 
near the edge of the cliff. The officer decided to send some of the men down to 
the water's edge. My uncle, in moving forward, lost his footing, and tumbled 
down to the bottom. He almost fell upon three British soldiers. Taking in 
the situation at once, he shouted, "Here they are, men, come on." The poor 
Britishers begged permission to surrender ; and he took the three of them 
back to camp. When they asked him how he captured them, he said: " 0> 
I surrounded them." 

I have heard John B. EUicott describe the coming over of the British. 
They had a long line of boats filled with soldiers. Directly in front of him an 




A SIDE GLIMPSE FROM THE LINE OF MARCH.— SOME QUIET HOMES OF BATAVIA. 



officer was standing in the bow of a boat giving orders. EUicott drew a 
bead on him; but his heart failed hmi, and he didn't shoot. Again he took a 
sight on him; but again he could not prevail upon himself to kill that man. 
The third time he let her fly. "Did you hit him?" "I don't know. Some- 
body hit him ; but by the time I shot there was a crash all along the line." 

EUicott would also tell of a funny panic that once took place among the 
troops at Black Rock. They were posted on the bluff ; and one evening a 
violent clatter was heard down by the water's edge A panic seized the 
detachment, and they fled with their arms in their hands. Pretty soon some 
one stubbled, and down went his bayonet into the fellow ahead of him. Then 
began a general stumbling, and a general bayoneting of the poor fellows that 



chanced to be ahead. "And what did you do !" "Why, I ran with the rest 
of them." When they came to investigate the cause of their terror and 
bloodshed, they found that an old blind horse was fumbling and stumbling- 
around in the narrow passageway. 

Grandfather died at the age of 88. His death was hastened, I think, by 
a fall he received on the bridge when he slipped on the ice. None of his 
children died under So, except one who died of cholera in 1834. 

The bears were very familiar in the early days in Batavia. My grandfath- 
er had a pig pen eight rails high just back of his house. In that pen they 
were fattening a lusty porker that had reached dimensions that would gratify 
the eye of Phil. Armour. One evening, when my father and grandmother 
were the sole occupants of the house the big piggy gave forth notes of positive 




OLD BATAVIA — THE TRACY RESIDENCE— ON THE SITE OF THE PRESENT WIARD RESIDENCE. 



distress. Peering out they saw a monstrous black bear depositing chuffy on 
the outside of that eight rail fence, without disturbing a rail. And they de- 
cided not to interfere with the proceedings. The eight rail pen knew chuffy 
no more forever. 

I regret to say that my last encounter with my excellent old grandfather 
was of such a nature as to leave our relations a little strained. I was a very 
frequent visitor at his residence, and always had the run of the house. One 
day as I was roaming through the upper chambers, to my inexpressible de- 
light, I chanced upon a violin and bow. I had never taken lessons from 
Paganini, but what I lacked in skill I made up in energy. I sawed and 
sawed until I was red in the face ; and I certainly succeeded in making my 



— 1 67 — 

Self heard. In fact, I thought that the remotest settler could not fail to catch 
my dulcet strains. I have said that my grandfather was not in robust health 
after his fall on the bridge ; so he was not in a condition to enjoy my music. 




I' ■''? . 



/ ?• 




ON IHE LINE OF MARCH. — NEW BATAVIA. 



I heard a very wrathful voice at the foot of the stairs ; and when I trembling- 
ly responded to its call I found my grandfather in such a rage that his wrath 
at the Britishers at Bunker Hill might in comparison be called amiability it- 
self. I shrank home, and never had the courage to enter his home again, 



—i68— 

though he lived several years longer. But I used to see him at a siife distanee 
strolling up the street every day to get his mail. 

The Batavia bar has always been strong. But the early bar of Batavia 
was exceedingly strong. There were Daniel H. Chandler, Albert Smith, 
Isaac H. Verplank, John B. Skinner, Ethan B. Allen, John H. Martindale, 
Edgar C. Dibble, Moses Taggart, Phineas Tracy, George W- Lay, Glen Car- 
penter, and Seth Wakeman. These were strong men. 

We (the Board of War) had e.Khausted all the lead accessible to us ; hav' 
ing caused even the spouts of houses to be melted ; and had unsuccessfully 
offered the equivalent of two shillings specie (25 cents) per pound for lead. I 
went on the evenino: of the dav in which I received a letter from the armv, to 




NEW BATAVIA— THE DORIC. 

a splendid entertainment given by Don Mirailles, the Spanish minister. My 
heart was sad, but I had the faculty of brightening my countenance even 
under the most gloomy disasters ; yet it seems not then with sufficient adroit- 
ness, for Mr. Morris, who was one of the guests, and knew me well, discover- 
ed some casual trait of depression. He accosted me in his usual frank and 
ingenuous manner, saying: " I see some clouds passing accross the sunny 
countenance you assume ; what is the matter ?" After some hesitation I 
showed him the General's letter which I had brought from the office, with the 
intention of placing it at home in a private cabinet. He pla3'ed with my 
anxiety, which he did not relieve for some time. At length, with good and 
sincere delight, he called me aside and told me that the Holker privateer had 



— i6g — 

just arrived at the wharf with ninety tons of lead whieh she liad broiv^dit as 
ballast. " You shall have, said Mr. Morris, " my half of this fortunate supply , 
there are the owners of the other half " (indicating gentlemen in the depart- 
ment). The othei half was obtained. Before morning a supply of cartridges 
was ready and sent off to the ^xmy .—Judge Peters. 

(John F. Lay.) 

Batavia figured in the War of 1S12 as a sort of rendezvous for the troops 
assembling from different parts of the interior of the State on their way to 
the front, and as a city of refuge for the wounded and fugitives. Batavia 
had at that time a very unique character m the person of Judge Stevens. The 




NKW BATAVIA —THE CORINTHIAN. 

Judge had served for a time on thestaff of General Porter, as his adjutant-general. 
Among the duties of his position was the locating and setting up of the head- 
quarters tent. On one occasion the enemy seemed disposed to disturb the or- 
dinarily peaceful procedure of going into camp. The discreet limb of the law 
rode back to his general and made the following report. " General, the bullets 
are flying over there ; it is positively dangerous to proceed with the setting up 
of that tent; I shall surely be killed if I tarry in that locality." The irate 
general at once discharged the full vial of his wrath upon the head of his 
cautious penman and mouthpiece; "Go back, immediately, sir, and proceed 
with your duties; it is your duty to direct the setting up of that tent." But 
the Judge had not studied law in vain; he had very clear notions of the Hm- 



— fjO — 

itations i)f jurisdictions, prerogatives, duties, vested rights, inalienable priv- 
ileges, and other world-controlling abstractions and distinctions. Though 
prudent and discreet in regard to the enemies bullets, he was nevertheless a 
very lion where his own rights seemed to be trenched upon. Drawing him- 
self 'ip with great dignity he proceeded to lay down the law of the matter to 
the very face of his test}' commander: "General Porter, sir, I would have 
3'ou to understand that I am your writing aid, not yowv fighting aid." 

The unfailing prudence and discretion of the worthy adjutant-general 
enabled hiiu to avoid disagreeable contact with the ill-mannered bullets and to 
return with an unbroken skin to his chosen Batavia. Thenceforth his pr^iw- 
css in arms gave an added interest to a character that was never lacking in 
unique attractions. 

" As driftwood spars, that meet and pass 
Upon the boundless ocean's phiiii. 
So in the sea of life, alas : 

Man meets man ; meets and quifs a^ain."' 

The Judge was destined to give to literature and history another Mash of 
genius. He had his residence on the south side of the creek, on the site of the 
present famous Law Mansion. On the Tonawanda bridge, which was after- 
wards the scene of such thrilling doings in the T>and Office wai, the liistory of 
the old world and the new came together, It is well known that after the 
battle of Waterloo the air of France was not congenial to the tard}- Marshal 
Grouchy. He was seized with a desire to see foreign lands. VVrap()ed in his 
own reflections and his military cloak he seemed to stalk abroad like a restless 
ghost. In due time he appeared in the qtiiet frontier hamlet of Batavia, a sol- 
itary, contemplative, undisturbed figure. As the Marshal was strolling in 
solitary pensiveness across the Tonawanda bridge in tlie gloamin<r, another 
solitary hgttre was approaching from the opposite direction. Sympathy often 
springs forth like an electric thrill; he who was behind time at Waterloo could 
not fail to awaken an interest in him who was behind the lines at Lttndy's 
Lane and Oueenstown. and Fort Niagara. The Judge, being on his native 
heath, felt that the initiative rested with him. Stopping short in front of tlie 
silent, gliding exile, and with his characteristic abruptness, he said: " You, 1 
believe, are Marshal Grouchy. I am Judge Stevens of Batavia." It was not 
exactly the manner of the French capital, so for a moment the Marshal's sen- 
sibilities were thrown into a chaotic condition. But, quickly collecting him- 
self, it is said that a gleam of intellectual illumination came over his counten- 
ance ; and just at that point tradition is silent. 

The Judge was for manv years a clerk in the Land Office. His assistant 
was Itmius A. Smith. The statements were made quarterly ; audit often re- 
quired commendable diligence to get them ready on time. The burden fell 
largely upon the shoulders of the faithful Junius. The Judge, being really a 
kind-hearted man, felt like cheering his toiling Achates: '• Now. Junius, when 
we get off these reports we will take some recreation." Junius brightened at 
the -idea like an overtaxed race-horse that has had a word of encouragement 
cooed into his ear. The reports were ready in good season; and, the benevo- 
lent Judge, true to his word, said: " Now, Junius, we will proceed to take 
some recreation." The pair strolled together across the bridge to the Judge's 
house, where, to the surprise of the laborious assistant, his host produced a 



bottle of "recreation." "Well, Junius, dum viviiniis vi'vamus." Having 
thus taken the " recreation," they at once returned to the Land Office and the 
new records. 

The Judge was very slow in adding. This was noticed by his observant 
assistant. Junius. The latter, after footing up a vast array of columns, com- 
placently appended a little memorandum : " I have footed up these columns 
in just one hour. J. A. S." The Judge, having no confidence in such expedi- 
tion, went over the whole matter in his usual laborious, careful, and slow man- 
ner, after which he appended the following supplementary memorandum : 
" And in doing so you have made fifteen mistakes. J. W. S." 

In Philadelphia, before coming to Batavia, Judge Stevens wrote for the 
newspapers a series of articles over the signature of " Peter Porcupine," reply 
ing to Cobbctt. 




PARADING UNDER DIFFICULTIES. — THE INDUSTRIAL FLOATS AFLOAT. 



Ellicott criticized Stevens to the effect that in his first view of things he 
got everything wrong side up, confused and mixed, but in the end he got 
them clarified, and brought them out all straight. 

A story of hotel independence in the olden time is told in connection with 
the old " Frontier House " in Batavia. It was situated on Brisbane Place, 
almost on the site of the present Brisbane mansion, and was kept by a man 
by the name of Keyes. Mrs. Keyes was a very tidy and capable body, and 
was the moving spirit of the hotel. It was General Scott's fortune to come 
twice to Batavia, each time under very interesting circumstances, and once in 
the broad liglit of history. When he fell wounded at Lundy's Lane, his first 



— 172 — 

field of fame, he was brought with other mangled sufferers to Batavia for 
care and treatment. There is a tradition that the Land Office was, for a time, 
his hospital. Here he was nursed l)ack into health for the making of other 
great pages in history. But about the first history he made was a brilliant 
marriage, the bride of the hero of Lundy's Lane being a bud or blossom of 
one of the first families of Virginia. The distinguished bridal party appeared 
in Batavia on their way to Niagara Falls and the old battlefields, and sought 
accommodations at the old Frontier Hotel. Business was very brisk, and the 
old Frontier House had heavy demands upon its accommodations. The quar- 
ters assigned to the bridal party seemed to the Belle of the old Dominion ut- 
terly unworthy of such guests, and she spoke very freely of what she thought 
was due to General Scott, and Mrs. General Scott, and Mrs. General Scott's 
sister. The i-eiDly of the sturdy Mrs. Keyes has come down to us: "I told Mrs. 
General Scott and Mrs. General Scott's sister that my house was of as good 
standing as any in the country, and if they did not like my accommodations 
they might go elsewhere." 

The imperious Mrs. S-'ott had been a Miss Mayo, the reigning beauty of 
Richmond. When Captain Scott attempted to storm the citadel of her heart, 
he was told that it was "impossible; not to be thought of." When Colonel 
Scott attempted the same bold enterprise, he was assurred that it was " some- 
what more reasonable." But when General Scott came crowned with the 
laurels of Lundy's Lane, he was pronounced " irresistible," and the fortress at 
once surrendered at discretion. 

The agents were all subjected to assaults to secure their removal. But 
they all came out unscathed. 

They were all men of note and influence. All distinguished guests were 
entertained by them witli an easy and ample hospitality. They were the cen- 
ter of a very high society. ]Mr. Wadsworth of Gentseo and John Gregg of 
Canandaigua maintained the most intimate social relations with the incum- 
bents of the Land Office. 

Mr. EUicott was an active promoter of the Erie canal, and was freely . 
consulted in regard to all that pertained to it. The grade was t .0 high to Ba- 
tavia ; but he got a feeder from Alabama to dram his swamp lands. 

The agency was fir.st offered to Andrew Ellicott, a brother of Joseph. 
Andrew was a verv eminent survej^or, and had a national reputation. It was 
for this reason that the Hollanders ofi^ered him the agency. He ran the 
boundary lines on the lakes and in Louisiana, and laid out the city of Wash- 
ington. 

Joseph never married. Among the descendents of Andrew Ellicott, now 
resident in Batavia, are; Miss Douglass, daughter of Professor Douglass of 
West Point, and later of Geneva College, who married a daughter of Andrew 
Ellicott, and Mrs. N. T. Smith, a daughter of John B. Ellicott, who was the 
son of Andrew. 

Goods came from New York by way of Rome and Oswego to Lewiston, 
and were carried thence to Batavia in wagons. The great boatman of the 
Mohawk was Eli Lasher. Another character in the Mohawk valley whose 
fame came with the goods to Batavia, was the interesting and very original 
Mr. Spraker of Spraker's Basin. When the church was struck by lightning 



Spraker would not rebuild it. He said stubbornly: " If God chooses to strike 
His own house, why should I build it up again for Him ?" 

Ebenezer Mix, the great surveyor and mathematician, was originally a 
mason by trade. He wandered into Batavia by mere chance. His calcula- 
tion of the plastering on Mr. Ellicott's house so impressed the latter that he 
put him in charge of all the mathematical calculations of the office. When 
the raiders planned the destruction of the Land (Jffice in order to destroy the 
records, they intended also to kill Mix, as they feared that he would restore 
everything from memory. 

He wrote and published a work on mathematics. 

In trying an ejectment suit, Daniel H. Chandler said: " Now, we'll bring 
on Ebenezer Mix, who has the Holland Land Company's land mapped on his 




THE FIRST ON THE GROUND — THE OLD AND THE YOUNG CONTINENTALS —THE DRUMS 

OF BUNKER HILL. 



brain." One of Mr. Chandler's sons became the distinguished Admiral Chand- 
ler of the United States navy. The well-known writer, Bessie Chandler, is 
his granddaughter, and daughter of the Admiral. She resides in Batavia. 

Red Jacket appeared frequently on the streets in Batavia. He could un- 
derstand English very well ; but he disdained to speak it except in extreme 
necessity. When addressed in English he would answer in Indian. His il- 
lustrious descendant. General Eli Parker of General Grant's staff, had a silver 
medal given by Wellmgton to Red Jacket. General Parker was one of the 
invited guests to the dedication of the Land Office. By a remarkable coin- 
cidence his death occurred on the day of the dedication. Bishop Coxe made a 
Ifeeling allusion to him as " The Last of the Iroquois." 



— 174-- 

The anti-Mason excitement was the means of bringing out a number of 
men into permanent prominence. Some rode upon the wave into tlie history 
of the nation. Among tliose were Millard Filmore, William H. Seward, and 
Thurlow Weed. It gave great prominence to my uncle, Phineas Tracy ; it 
sent my father to Congress ; and it brought out Thomas C. Love of Buffalo, 
Albert H. Tracy of Buffalo, Gideon Hurd of Albion, and Frederick Whittlesey 
of Rochester. 

A bodv was found in the Lake; and it was brought forward as Morgan's. 
There was a little discrepancy, however, in the whiskers ; the face of the corpse 
had stub side-whiskers, whereas Morgan's face was smooth-shaven to the 
top. The story is told told that Thurlow Weed took hold of the stub whis- 
ker and it parted from the face. " There," he said, "that is a good enough 
Morgan till after election." 

The Holland Purchase touches the Revolution, through Morris who trans- 
ferred it to the Hollanders, and through the Hollanders themselves who were 
Morris's Revolutionary creditors. 

But it seems that the Land Office was destined to be mixed up in some 
way with every great convulsion of the United States. If it can be said that 
it gave Lincoln to history, then it must be conceded that it had an important 
relation to the Civil War. That it caused the nomination of Lincoln I think 
can be established beyond dispute. 

In i8f)o Mr. Seward was the logical candidate of the Republicans. His pro- 
nunciamento of the "irrepressable conflict" voiced the coming struggle. Men 
looked CO him as the prophet and the Moses of the hour. He came very near 
getting the nomination for president, and would have obtained it had he not 
been stricken down at the last moment by Horace Greeley at Chicago. 

Greeley's animosity had its origin in the Land Office. Albert Brisbane of 
Batavia had become the great apostle of Fourierism, in which Greeley took 
some interest. This led to very friendly relations. Through the influence of 
Brisbane the columns of the Tribune were opened to a series of articles from 
Batavia reflecting upon the administration of Redfield and Pringle, who were 
acting as agents for the Farmers' Loan an \ Trust Company, the last owners 
of the interests of the Hollanders in the Purchase. 

Mr. Redfield brought suit for libel ; and William H. Seward was appointed 
referee. Mr. Seward decided against the 7 r/^ //-«.?, and adjudged it to pay a 
fine of fiij-e hundred dollars and to retract the libelous statements. Greeley 
did not mind the five hundred dollars much; but the retraction stung him to 
the quick. He became thenceforth a bitter, unrelenting enemy of Mr. Sew- 
ard. He said that his time would come ; and it came — at Chicago. By stating 
these cold facts we do not necessarily imply any regret that the great Lincoln 
came on to the stage of action for which he seemed providentially destined. 
But the facts show what great results may flow from very small causes. Mr. 
Seward was a high-minded man, and a patriot; and he faithfully co-operated 
with Mr. Lincoln in carrying forward to a successful issue one of the greatest 
struggles in history. He did what he thought was right in the Land Office 
matter; and I think that he could .say with Clay that he "would rather be 
right than be President." 

In a private interview with Washington the subject of an attack on New 



- -115— 

York was broached. Mr. Morris dissented; assuming that it would be at too 
great a sacrifice of men and money; that the success of the measure was 
doubtful; that even if successful the triumph as to results would be a barren 
one : the enemy having command of the sea could at any time land fresh 
troops and retake it, etc. Assenting to these objections, the commander-in- 
chief said : " What am I to do? The country calls on me for action ; and 
moreover my army cannot be kept together unless some bold enterprise is 
undertaken." To this Mr. Morris replied : "Why not lead your forces to 
Yorktown? there Cornwallis may be hemmed in by the French fleet by sea, 
and the American and French armies by land, and will ultimately be com- 
pelled to surrender." " Lead my troops to Yorktown!" said Washington, 
appearing surprised at the suggestion. ' How am I to get them there? One 




RELICS IN THE LAND OFFICE. 



of my di^iculties about attacking New York arises from the want of funds to 
transport my troops thither. How then can I muster the means that will be 
requisite to enable them to march to Yorktown? " "You must look to me 
for funds," rejoined Mr. Morris. " And how are you to provide them? " said 
Washington. "That," said Mr. Morris, " I am unable at this time to tell 
you, but I will answer with my head, that if you will put your army in motion, 
I will supply the means of their reaching Yorktown." After a few minuteg 
reflection, Washington, said: "On this assurance of yours, Mr. Morris, such 
is my confidence in your ability to perform any engagement you make, I will 
adopt your suggestion." — O. 'lurner. 



— i'j6- - 

{Joseph Edwin Wtlford.) 

My Grandfather McRillus, on my mother's side, came to the Holland 
Purchase in 1808, and took up the McRillus place, one mile east of the pres- 
ent village of Oakfield. The property is still in the hands of his descendants, 
after the lapse of 86 years. He came from Madison County, in this State. 
His wife was a daughter of Dr. Cleveland, a third cousin of President Cleve- 
land. 

Mother was but four years of age when the family arrived here ; but to 
the day of her death at 82, she had a most distinct remembrance of the 
coming into the Genesee country, and of all the events that transpired subse- 
quently I was her home boy, and she lived with me to the day of her death. 
To the last her memory was a luminous storehouse of the history of this re- 
gion, ■' all of which she saw and part of which she was ;" and she was con. 
stantly pouring it out to my not unwilling ear They stopped in Batavia the 
first night, and then started to drive seve?i miles to Oakfield. It took two 
days to make the trip, which is now just one hour'sdelightful drive along one 
of the finest thoroughfares and among the noblest farm steads in the world. 
The two days were consumed in cutting away trees to let the wagon pass 
l-hrough. They stopped over night midway at Dusenbury's, at Dusenbury 
Hill. She was impressed with the superabundance of peaches and the scar- 
city of apples. The children were told to eat all the peaches they pleased, 
but to spare the apples. It is now just the reverse ; the apple orchards are 
like sturJy forests on every farm ; but the raising of peaches is not a suc- 
cess. She accounted for the abundance of peaches by supposing that the 
Indiana must have cultivated them. 

The first white child born in Oakfield was born on the adjoining farm, a 
daughter of Aaron Waite. She married Harvey Fisher, a man somewhat 
prominent and well known in this region. When the war of 1812 swept all 
the men away, Aaron White went with the rest. In the report of the ki led, 
wounded, an I missing, it was Aaron's fortune to be reported among the last. 
He never returned and no trace of him was ever obtained. No infant set- 
tlement ever iiad a more dismal start. There was but one man left, and he 
was left because he was both old and feeble. So the women and children 
had to do the best they could while wars and rumors of wars filled the neigh- 
borhood with distress, anxiety, and panic. Buffalo was burned by the British 
and Indians acting together. Battles and reverses came on the breeze ; the 
Americans were preparing for a retreat on Batavia, there to make a last des- 
perate stand. At length the dreadful tidings came that the red-coats were 
coming, and the frightened women and children fled away through the 
woods, most of them passing entirely beyond the Genesee River. Others 
found shelter away up at Caledonia. Caledonia had been started early on 
account of its facilities for milling. 

The very few who did not flee gathered together in one house, and my 
mother's family were among them. There they awaited, like frightened 
lambs, for the coming of the wolves. And the terrible red-coats came in 
earnest. But they came without arms in their hands, and they came between 
armed files of the blue-coated soldiery. They were prisoners of war taken 
at Lundy's Lane. The Americans had at last gained a great victory, and 
the time of extreme distress was past. 



—177— 

My father came in 1811, just in time to be swept away by the war. He 
lay out all night before Buffalo while it was burning, and in the struggle that 
occurred there he received a desperate wound in the leg. Three days later 
he arrived at Batavia with his wound still undressed, and in a horrible con- 
dition. The kindly Doctor McCracken took him to his house. But when Mrs. 
McCracken saw the condition of the man she positively insisted that that 
horrible looking soldier should be taken somewhere else. When the Doctor 
told her that it was one of their own neighbor boys, and who he was, she not 
only relented, but took him in and cared for him as a mother. 

My father, John C Wilford, came from Vermont. He drove through 
with a stock of hardware, which sold well. The family were originally Con- 
necticut people, the ancestors of all arriving there about 1635. 







1 

1 
J 1 


. ^""^ - 




"^Si 


|H|^M"" ■'■> 


«ir- ■■^^.4v.ji|- 


^ul^l^^H 


wKpc 







NEAR THE SPEAKER S STAND. 



My father was one of the first, and, I think, the very first justice of the 
the peace in the town of Elba. In those days the justice was appointed by 
the Governor, and he was required to be a freeholder. In order to qualify 
himself my father bought a lot containing two acres of land. This little 
estate was never restored to the farm it was taken from, but became incor 
porated into the adjoining farm; and that farm to-day bears witness of the- 
property qualification required in the olden time. 

The old settlers thought it very important to let their boys see and hear 
great men. Daniel Webster once delivered an address in Batavia; and 
father took us boys to hear him. He spoke from the Court House steps and 
made a deep impression on me. He was received at the station and brought 



to the Court House in a carriage drawn by four black horses. Such things 
made a deep impression on boys. 

The old people had very strict notions inherited from New England. 
General Erastus Cleveland, of Madison County, was a brother of my grand- 
mother. Albert H. Tracy, a very distinguished lawyer of Buffalo, wanted 
to marry his daughter; but Mrs. Cleveland opposed the match on the ground 
that lawyers cannot enter heaven; and she carried her point. Mr. Tracy's 
brother, Phineas L. Tracy, was one of Batavia's distinguished citizens. 

I was always a great admirer of Dean Richmond. He was a public- 
spirited man, a patriot, and a good citizen in every respect. It was Dean 
Richmond who got the State Institution for the Education of the Blind 
located here. He did much for Batavia. During his life every train on the 
Central had to stop at Batavia. He was a man of great force of character, 
and his influence was felt throughout the entire United States. Samuel J. 
Tilden said that Richmond could have had the nomination for President and 
could have been elected. His value to the State and nation during the Re- 
bellion was incalculable The country owes much to the patriotism of such 
men as Richmond and Heman J. Redfield. 

Since his death his excellent wife and family have been most active and 
liberal in all matters of public interest, and in public and private charities. 
As a consequence the name is and always will be dear to the people of this 
vicinity. 

Among the dangers of the olden time was that of getting lost in the 
woods. One of Joseph Holmes's sisters was lost in the woods and died 
before she was found. 

[The above modest narrative omits some important tacts in regard to 
the Wilford family. The following significant quotation is from Beers's 
Gaeetteer of Genesee County. It connects well with the story of Robert 
Morris. "Joseph Wilford, a native of Conecticut, was a soldier in the 
Revolutionary arriiy. The British offered a bounty of 300 sovereigns for his 
body. He spent §40,000 of his private fortune to aid our governmont He 
afterwards went to Vermont, and from there came to Batavia (now Oakfield). 
John C. Wilford, his son, was born in Rutland, Vt., in 1787, and came to 
Oakfield in 1811. His education was liberal, and he taught several terms." 
This passage would bear much comment. — K.] 

[F. B. Redfield.) 

My grandfather, Peleg Redfield, came to the Genesee country from 
Sheffield, Connecticut, in 1799, and took a soldier's claim in the town of Man- 
chester, Ontario county, a few miles from Clifton Springs. He had served 
throughout the Revolutionary War, was with Washington at Valley Forge, 
and shared in all the horrors of that winter encampment. He had two pecu- 
liarly bitter experiences that winter on the top of all the other troubles. He 
was taken down with small pox and narrowly escaped with his life While 
out on a scout with another soldier, they were espied and chased by a detach 
ment of Hessian cavalry.' The fugitives turned in at a farm-house to run 
across a field to some woods beyond. In passing the barn the other soldier 
slipped around to an over-turned sleigh and got in under the box. Grand- 



— I79-- 

father ran on, and was half across the field before he realized that the other 
soldier was not with him. He halted a moment, and saw the Hessians tear- 
ing down the bars and rushing- through the yard. They quickly located the 
poor soldier by his tracks in the snow. Grandfather saw them order him 
out from under the box and cut him down without a moments grace. He 
then ran for his life to the woods, and succeeded in eluding his pursuers. He 
passed the whole night in the woods. It was bitterly cold, and both his feet 
were frozen. They were never entirely right afterward. He was with 
Washington all through the war ; on Long Island, at White Plains, on the 
retreat through the Jerseys, at Trenton and Princeton, at Brandywine, Ger- 
mantown, Valley Forge, Monmouth, and Yorktown. He witnessed the ex- 
ecution of Major Andre, and always spoke of his fate with sympathy and re- 




■IHE CLASS OF 94, 

gret. He told of the horrible destitution of the army when a year's pay in 
paper money would hardly buy a meal of victuals. We have a piece of the 
Continental scrip which he received at Valley Forge. But he used to de- 
scribe vividly the change that took place in their comfortts, when Robert 
Morris came to their assistance. The soldiers revered Morris as their 
savior. 

After all his sufferings in the Revolution he was ready for a struggle 
with the wilderness ; and he fought out the battle of pioneering for nearly 
fifty years longer. My father used to say that if privations did not kill them, 
you could not kill those old fellows with a club. 

My grandfather lived to be 91, and was a hale and lively old gentleman 



/• 



—i8o— 

to the last. He stayed to the last on the farm which he took up in 1799. He 
retired, of course, from active business in his later life, and turned his farm 
over to one of his sons, with whom he continued to live. He kept for his 
own use a white mare and a buggy. The well-preserved old Continental and 
his unique little turn-out, were quite an interesting sight in the neighborhood. 
When my father would go to visit him in his last years the old gentleman 
would meet him at Clifton Springs with his little white mare and his little 
buggy and carry him out to the farm. On one occasion, on reaching the 
house, he bounded to the ground like an India rubber ball, and began to pull 
dovvn some steps, saying slyly to his son : " Heman, here are some steps that I 
have fi.Ked for the comfort of the women folks." 

It was his fate to die a sort of violent death after all. A bov came into 




THE MACEDONIAN PHAL.\NX SURROUNDING THE SPEAKER WITH SHIELD AND BUCKLER 

— THE OLD GUARD NEVER SURRENDERS. 



the neighborhood suffering with small-pox. No one would go near him. 
Grandfather said that the boy must have care, and, as he had had the small- 
pox at Valley Forge, he claimed that he was small pox proof, and would at- 
tend the boy. He was warned of the peril ; but he said that the poor boy 
must have care. He went to the pest house, took the small-pox, and died. 
By a curious coincidence the figures were just reversed ; he was just 19 when 
he was stricken with the disease at Valley Forge ; he was just 91 when he 
died of it in the Genesee country. 

His was a long life of unremitting service ; but it was throughout a life 
of spotless purity and integrity, 



—i8i— 

The pioneers were always kind and helpful to each other, but what they 
did they did as a matter of course, and never said anything about 
it The gates of my grandfather's silence, however, were once broken open 
in the midst of a spectacular and amusing scene. My father served in the 
State Senate in the early twenties. He was one of the "seventeen" who 
successfully resisted the attempt to change the law relating to the election 
of Presidential electors. For this they were for a time intensely unpopular, 
though the reaction afterwards came, and they were then known as the 
"glorious seventeen." But they were all burned in effigy, and were threat- 
ened with personal violence. Coffin handbills were sent to them, and "King 
Caucus " was denounced as "over-riding the will of the people." Father 
found a placard posted on a wooden horse and left near his door. No pio- 




THE OLD GUARD AT CLOSE RANGE. 



P 



neer needed any explanation of the hint intended to be conveyed by the 
wooden horse. In order to have some help in case of violence he had his 
law clerk sleep in his house. 

In the midst of these troubles he paid a visit to grandfather. As the 
evening was wearing on they were suddenly astonished by a great illumina- 
tion in the yard. Looking out they saw my father's effigy yielding to the de- 
vouring flames in the presenee of a great crowd. My father was rather 
amused than otherwise, and stood gazing through the window at the martyr- 
dom of his own poor image. Suddenly an apparition darted into the midst 
of the glare. It was that of an old man in his shirt sleeves with a pitchfork 
in his hands, and his white hair flying in the breeze, as he charged upon th'- 



n 



- i8i— 

iledrest squad of the disturbers, and drove them off into the darkness. Then 
returning to another squad, he drove them off pell-mell in another direction. 
And as they rallied Old '76 would give them again and again the charge of 
Trenton, and Stony Point, and Yorktown, until he stood in victorious pos- 
session of the evacuated field. And he accompanied every vicious lunge 
with an objurgation : " Insult my son, will you, you worthless wretches? I'll 
teach you your manners, if you've never learned them before. Was it for 
this that I sheltered your families when you came into the wilderness?" 
And the murderous fork came gleaming into the faces of his quondam pro- 
teges. " Was it for this that I gave you a cow? " And where there were 
once bowels of mercy, there was now a raging fury, seeking with his pitch- 
fork the bowels that had once digested his food. I have heard it said that 
people can tell when a man means to hit. This was the only occasion when 
my grandfather ever alluded to his benefactions ; and this was the only col- 
lision he ever had with his neighbors. It was the one solitary outburst of 
violence in half a century of quiet attention to duty. 

My grandfather and his boys came to be possessed of a very comforta- 
ble competence. But they started in a very humble way. After filing on 
his claim he went back to Connecticut and brought his family out the ne.xt 
year, 1800. They came in a sleigh, and fed their horses the last day on 
brown bread. My father assisted in building the house that stands there to- 
day, and in doing so he fell and cut off his finger. They made the brick for 
the chimney by hand, and those bricks are still in their place. Some ot the 
apple trees planted by them nearly a century ago are still standing. 

I'he typical pioneer was ready for any emergency. After leaving the 
army my grandfather worked for a time at making shoes. His neighbors 
availed themselves freely of this skill. When one came with a pair of shoes 
to be cobbled he would hand him the a.\e and tell him to go on chopping 
while he did the cobbling. And when the job was finished the accounts weie 
always squared. One pair of shoes a year was the rule ; and no one could 
break over it. If any one's shoes went to pieces before the end of the year 
he would have to tie them up with birch bark and hobble along to the ap- 
pointed limit. 

When our people came to the Genesee country they were guided by 
blazed trees in the woods. 

The wolves would come right into the door-yard. One Sunday, while 
all the rest of the family were away at church, a very fine deer came into 
the yard ; and my father took down the gun and shot it. The neighborhood 
was very much scandalized by this desecration of the Sabbath, and my father 
was under a cloud for quite awhile. One evening while out looking for the 
cows he saw a gigantic bear sitting up on his haunches on the opposite side 
of a creek. He beat a retreat for home, and left the cows out that night. 

Speaking of the shoes, the settlers tanned their own hides, and supplied 
about all their own wants at first hand. 

When a man got into the nineties they began to look upon him as a little 
old. Delos Dodgson, however, says that his uncle was a good squirrel 
hunter at 98, and did not die till he was 103. 

My grandfather drew a soldier's pension. He gave it all away in charity, 



p 



- 'S3- 

and much more with it. He was always ready to leave anything that he was 
doing and go berrying with the children. 

My father taught school and boarded around. He said that he always 
preferred the houses where the pretty girls were. 

He served in the war of 1812. Was in the battle of Queenstown Heights. 
He rode through Buffalo soon after it was burned and saw just one house 
standing. 

He studied law with John C. Spencer at Canandaigua and hung out his 
shingle at Le Roy. When he selected Batavia he thought that on the;vvhoIe 
it promised to be a larger town than Buffalo. 

He was in the Legislature in 1824, and was collector of the port of New 
York under Pierce. He came to Batavia to take charge of the Lan ( 




THE "BLUE DOMES OF WYOMING S HILLS " REFLECTED IN SILVER LAKE, THE 

"JEWELL OF THE GENESEE." 

My brothers were in the war of the Rebellion. We had no one in Mexi- 
co. That is the one break in our military history. 

[The following additional information in regard to Heman J. Redfleld is 
from Beers's Gazetteer of Genesee Ceunty. "He was in the battle of 
Queenstown Heights, and was with General Harrison at Fort George, where 
he received a brevet from the commanding general for gallant services. 

. . . He soon became distinguished as a lawyer. When arrangements 
were made for the trial of those accused of abducting William Morgan ^ 
was offered the position of special counsel to assist the attorney-gener- 

. . In 1835 he also declined the office of circuit judge tendered 



—i84 — 

Governor Marcy. ... It was highly creditable to him that, when he 
rendered his accounts as collector of the port of New York, involving the 
large sum of $143,493-957. they were promptly settled exactly as he rendered 
them. ... In all the perils to which our country has been exposed, he 
has ever been on the side of the government. He sustained Mr. Polk 
throughout the Mexican war, and exerted himself on the side of the Govern- 
ment during the late war. . . . His first wife was Abby Noyes Gould, 
whom he married at Canandaigua, Ontario county, January 27, 1S17. She 
died at Batavia on the nth of February, 184T, in the 44th year of her age. 
The following children only survive them both; Elizabeth Gould, wife of 
Robert W. Lowber, of Bald Mountain, Washington county; Mary Judd, wife 
of Major Henry I. Glowacki, residing at Batavia; Jane, wife of Lawrence 




SILVER LAKE EMERGING. 

Turnure, of New York City ; Cornelia, the widow of Rear Admiral Ralph 
Chandler, U. S. N., lately in command of the Asiatic station, at present re- 
siding at Yokohama, Japan; and Anna M., the widow of George Evans, of 
Albany, N. Y. In 1846 he married for his second wife Constance C. Bolles, 
of Newark, N. J., of English and French ancestry, who survives him, and by 
whom he had four children, as follows: Frank B. Redfield, Abby L. Sunder- 
land, Una Clark (Mrs. Daniel W. Tomlinson), all of whom reside at Batavia, 
and Martha Evans, wnfe of Lieut. Rodman, LT. S. N., now stationed at New- 
port, R. I."] 



John Hancock, President of Congress, writing to Mr. Morris in a severe 



r 



-i83~ 

crisis of the Revolution, says: " I know, however, you will put things in a 
proper way; all things depend upon you, and you have my hearty thanks for 
your unremitting labor." 

Paul Jones made Mr. Morris his executor, and bequeathed him as a token 
of his high regard, the sword he had received from the King of France. Mr. 
Morris gave it to Commodore Barry, with a request that it should fall suc- 
cessively into the hands of the oldest commander of the American Navy.— (9. 
Turner. 

(IV. C. Watson.) 

The tardy honors to Robert Morris, at last accorded by his much-indebt- 
ed but strangely-forgetful country, have my fullest approval and my most 




SILVER LAKE EMERGED. 



B 



/ 



heartfelt sympathy. I am proud that it has fallen to the lot of our little city 
to take the lead in rectifying the great injustice done by America to her great- 
est benefactor and perhaps her greatest man. Certainly never before did the 
burden of nation-making fall more fully upon one pair of shoulders; and 
never before was the burden more triumphantly sustained. Never before 
was the burden borne with greater meekness or less of self-seeking; and never 
before was power more readily surrendered when the need of its exercise was 
past. The return of Solon, Cincinnatus, and Washington to private station 
did not exceed in grace that of Robert Morris. Never before nor since did a 
man enter the public service with a more exalted motive ; never before nor 
since did a man exhibit greater abilities or achieve greater results in that ser- 



—i86 - 

vice ; never before nor since have greater sacrifices been made by an individ- 
ual tor the public weal ; and never before nor since has a man stepped more 
quickly aside the moment he could be spared. Never before nor since has a 
man been more reticent about his public service; never before nor since has a 
man shown more fully his conviction that a consciousness of duty performed 
is its own best and sufficient reward. Viewed from every point of view the 
man is simply colossal. That he has disappeared from American histories is 
the strangest phenomenon of our first century. But if he has disappeared 
from American histories he has not disappeared from American history ; he is 
there forever; and any honest gropings after fundamental cau'^es will find him 
every time The enthusiasm which gathered about our recent celebration- 
and which came up from all parts of the land, ^hows that the American peo- 









. -"^H'attWWw ■ 



THE RIVER CHL'KNS. 



pie do not want to be unjust, and that they will not be when they are once 
correctly informed. I am sure that I see in this movement the emergence of 
Robert Morris to his true place in American history and in the affections of 
the American people. And among all our great ones none can command 
higher admiration ; none is more fitted to call forth the warmest love. He is 
the true protagonist of America; and I feel sure that he will be one other 
most cherished idols. 

But I feel that this occasion should not be permitted to pass by without 

•ipropriate recognition of another great American character. This cele- 

has been stimiilated, perhaps brought to a successful issue, by the 

' a great name, the name of Richmond .The names of Morris and 



- i87~ 

Richmond are well met m American history. There is a remarkable parallel 
between the careers of the two men. Both were men of Titanic powers; 
both achieved extraordinary success in business ; both were statesmen of the 
broadest outlook, and both were patriots of the most burning zeal. As Mor- 
ris stood with his millions behind the war for American independence, so 
did Richmond stand with his millions behind the war for the preservation of 
the American Union. As furious as was Morris's determination to make the 
Revolution win, just so furious was Richmond's determination to make the 
war for the Union win. At his call regiments sprang up as it were from the 
ground ; at his word the freights were side-tracked and those regiments were 
rushed forward to the front to fight for the life of the nation. His patriotism 
burned high above all considerations of party; he turned upon the party asso- 




THE RIVER BREAKS. 



ciates of]a lifetime and gave his loyal siipport to a president elected from the 
ranks of the opposition. Who will say how far this turned the tide of civil 
war ? A Richmond was keeping the war from becoming one of parties, an 
internecine struggle between factions. The Richmonds were making the 
rear secure; the Richmonds were nerving the arms of the Grants the Thom- 
ases, the Logans, the Slocums, and the Farraguts. The historians of the war 
must do as Mr. Lincoln did, give great credit to the Richmonds. 

But the mightiest Richmond of them all was Dean Richmond of Batavia. 

His service and his influence in that great convulsion make him a national 

and historical character, and thej^ place him in the high ranks of disinterested 

patriots. lived beside him all my life; I felt the intensity of his zeal; I felt 



— 1 88 

the power of his mighty iiilluence. I think he ouglit to be regarded as one of 
Ameriea's strong and national eharaeters, as one of her truest patriots. He 
had the history-making instinct, and the history-making foree ; and I hope to 
see hin recognized as a historical character. 

(Co)itributcd.) 

Among the celebrities that \nsited this region in the early day was the 
poet Moore. He came in 1804 to a country that had already quite a little 
history, but almost no literature. After singing the Dismal Swamp, the Po- 
tomac, the Schuylkill, and the Delaware into immortality, he at last came 
smging into the wilderness. 

The Mohawk caught a noble ode ; 





WHAT THE WASHINGTON PARTY HEARD THAT NIGHT. 

From ri.se of morn till set of .'un, 
I've .seen the mighty Mohawk run ; 
And as I marked tlie woods of pine 
Along his mirror d-irkly shine. 
Like tall and gloomy forms that pass 
Before the wizard's midnight glass ; 
And as I viewed the hurrying pace 
With which he ran liis turbid race, 
Rusliing, alike untired and wild. 

Through shades that frowned and flowers that smiled, 
Flying by every green recess 
That wooei him to its calm caress. 
Yet, sometimes turning with tlie wind, 
As if to leave one look behind ! 
h ! I have thought, and thinking sighed— 



— /<?p— 



I 



How like to thee, thou restless tide ! 
May be the lot, the life of him, 
Who roams along thy water's brim ! 
Through what alternate shades of woe 
And flowers of joy my path may go I 
How many au humble, still retreat 



% 






K 




WHAT THEY SAW THE NEXT MORNING. 



May rise to court my weary feet. 
While still pursuing, still uiiblest, 
I wander on, nor dare to rest ! 
But, urgent as the doom that calls 
Thy water to its destined falls, 
1 see the world's bewildenng force 



— igo — 

Hurry my heart's devoted course 
From lapse to lapse, till life be done, 
And the lost current cease to run 1 
Oh : may my falls be brigrht as thine ! 
May Heaven's forgiving rainbow shine 
Upon the mist that circles me. 
As soft as now it hangs o'er thee ! 

The voice is coming this way. Will the Tonawanda catch a note? Yes, 
the finest gem of all was dropped upon our stream. Tradition locates the 
spot aliout'one mile west of Batavia. The singer arrived here in his best 
mood. As if prophetic of the peace and plenty which now smile all over the 
Genesee country, he left us the most exquisite little idyl that was ever dropped 
from poet's pen: 

I knew by the smoke, that so gracefully curled 

Above the green elms, that a cottage was near ; 
And I said, 'If theve's peace to be found in the world, 

A heart that was humble might hope for it liere I' 

It was noon, and on flowers that languished around 

In silence reposed the voluptuous bee ; 
Every leaf was at rest, and I heard not a sound 

But the woodpecker tapping the hollow beech-tree. 

And ' Here in this lonehttle wood,' I exclaimed, 

"tV^ith a maid who was lovely to soul and to eye. 
Who would blush when I praised her, and weep if I blamed. 

How blest could I live, and how calm could I die 1 

'By the shade of yon sumach, whose red berry dips 

In the gush of the fountain, how sweet to recline. 
And to know that I sighed upon innocent lips. 

Which had never been sighed on by any but mine !' 

But when he struck the nndrained swamps as he wended his toilsome way 
westward, a cloud began to settle upon his spirits, and his song partakes o 
the spirit of the scene: 

Now the vapour, hot and damp. 
Shed by day's expiring lamp. 
Through the misty ether spreads 
Every ill the white man dreads ; 
Fiery fever's thirsty thrill. 
Fitful ague's shivering chill 1 

Hark ! I hear the traveler's song, 
As he winds the woods along : 
Christian ! 'tis the song of fear ; 
Wolves are round thee, night is near,; 
And the wild thou dar'st to roam— 
Oh ! 'twas once the Indian's home. 
****** 

At last footsore, lame from an accident, sick and discouraged, he arrived 
■"he shores of Lake Erie, and poured out his suffering and homesickness in 
'^nl Jeremiade. It was the one brief cloud. 



11 



•I 



IV 



V 



- igi- 

But here, alas! by Erie's stormy lake. 

As far from thee my lonely course I take. 

No brisrht ri'membrance o'er the fancy plays, 

>"o classic dream, no star of other days. 

Has left that visionary glory here. 

That relic of its light, so soft so dear. 

Which gil'ls and hallows even the rudest scene. 

The humblest shed, unere genius once has beenl 

All tha' creation's varying mass assumes 
Of grand or lovely here aspires and blooms; 
Colli rise the mountains, rich the gardens glow. 
Bright lakes expand, and conquering rivers fl')w; 
^■iiid. mind alone, without whose quickeniim ray. 
The w>)rlirs a wilderness, and man bat cfay. 
Mind, min I alone, in barren, .still repose. 
Nor blooms, nor rises, nor expands nor flowsl 











A TITAN IN HARNESS. 



The despondent poet forgot for the moment thata people must make their 
epic before they can sing it. The heroic age of American historj- was send- 
ing up its notes from the woods ; and he misunderstood the note. 

But his depression was not of long duration. His recovery, physical and 
mental, was rapid. Buoyant as ever, he reached Niagara, and there poured 
forth his highest notes of triumph, worthy to mingle forever with the sounds 
of the mighty cataract. 



- -igi — 

1 dreamed not then, that ere the rolling year 

Had filled its circle, I should wander here 

In musing awe; should tread this wondrous world, 

See all its store of inland waters hurled 

In one vast volume down Niagara's steep. 

***** 

Now the voice is receding down the St. Lawrence River catching the ro- 

inantic notes of the Canadian boatman's song. 

Faintly as tolls the evening chime. 
Our voices keep tune and our oars keep time, 
Soon as the woods on shore look dim. 
We'll sing at St. Ann's our parting hymn. 
Row, brothers, row, the stream runs fast. 
The Rapids are near and the daylight's past ! 

Why should we yet our sail unfurl? 
There is not a breath the blue wave to curl. 
But when the wind blows off the shore. 
Oh! sweetly we'll rest our weary oar. 
Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast. 
The Rapids are near, and the daylight's past: 

Utawas' tide, this trembling moon 
Shall see us float over thy surges soon. 
Saint of this green Islel hear our prayers. 
Oh ! grant us cool heavtns and favoring airs. 
Blow, breezes, blow, the stream runs fast. 
The Rapids are near, and the daylight's past ! 

Up from distant and lonely Labrador come the solemn notes of the dirge 
by Dead Man's Isle. 

See you, beneath yon cloul so dark. 

Fast gliding along, a gloomy bark ! 

Her sal s are full, though the wind is still, 

And there blows mt a bre.ith her sails to fill ! 

Oh ! what doth that vessel o darkness bear ? 
The silent calm of tiie grave is there. 
Save now and again a death-kuel! rung, 
And the flap of the sails with night fo.c huij; ! 

There lieth a wreck on the dismal shore 

Of cold and pitiless Labrador ; 

Where, under the moon, upon mounts of frost, 

Full many a mariner's bones are tossed 1 

Yon shadowy bark hatn been to that wreck, 
And the dim blue fire that lights her deck 
Doth play on as pale and livid a crew, 
As ever yet drank the churchyard dew ! 

To Deadman's Isle, in the eye of the blast. 
To Deadman's Isle she speeds her fast ; 
By skeleton shapes her sails are furled, 
And the hand that steers is not of tiiis world ! 

Oh ! hurry thee on— oh ! hurry thee on, 
Thou terrible bark ! ere the night be gone, 
Nor let morning look on so foul a sight 
As would blanch for ever her rosy light I 
* * * ■ * * 



~^93~ 

Last of all we have his half-sorrowful, wholly-joyful outburst a. h. 
cends the vessel that is to bear him home: outburst, as he as. 

-Farewell to the few-thou^h we ne^er may meet. 

On this planet agrain. it is soothing and sweet 

To thmk that, whenever my song, or my name 

Shall recur to their ear, they'll recall me the same 

I have been to them now, young, unthoughtful. and blest 1 

Ere hope had deceived me or sorrow depressed ' 

:* * * * * ■ * 

But see :-the bent top-sails are ready to swell - 
To the boat-I am with thee- Columbia, farewell !" 

in the midst of its ir elte t trLl! '^ ^ . '" P''''''"' P"-<»^P=ritv- But 
episode, thats^it'SSLof To^r"' '"" ^-""« -^ never-to-be forgotten 

Thou, too, sail on, O ship of state ' 
Sail on. O Union, strong and great ' 
Humanity, with all its fears 
With all the hopes of future years. 
Is hanging breathless on thy^fate ! 
We know what Master laid thy keel 
What Workman wrought thy ribs of'steel 
^ho made each mast, and sail, and rope, 
What anvils rang, what hammers beat; 
In what a forge and what a heat 
Were shaped the anchors of thy hope I 

Fear not each sudden sound and shock, 

Tis of the wave and not the rock 
'Tis but the flapping of the sail. 
And not a rent made by the gale ' 
In spite of rock and tempest's roar 
In spite of false lights on the shore ' 
Sail on. nor fear to breast the sea '' 
Our hearts, our hopes, are all with thee • 

Our faith triumphant o'er our fears 

Are all with thee,-are all with thee '.--Lonr,fellou^ . 



This is the point at which Robert Morris performer! hU 
service. // .^«, Xv..av. Ma/ //,. annv uwulITebe^rl I ^''^'''^ P"^"<^ 
to dzsband it without pay. No one kneTho^ f ^ 1 ''"'^' '"''' ''^^'^^ 
^ayiu^it, untessRoJrt^forrisZJZ^ i%':r^^ -ny pretence of 

^£^:Z^:jrj^^:t::^-^, --^^^^--^ stature; Of 

His loose. ,ray hair wa^^^Trr^rhi:^^^^^^^^ 

uncommonly brilliant. He wore, as was commrit'thi; ^^Tt^l 



—194— 

broadcloth of the same color, and of light mixture. His manners were gra- 
cious and simple, and free from the formality which generally prevails. He 
was very afifable, and mingled in common conversation,, even with the young. 
— Sullivan. 

Frank, generous and manly mortal.— /(9//« Adams. 

Upon him had devolved the financiering for our country m a period of 
peril and embarrassment. When the army of Washington, unpaid, were lack- 
ing food and raiment : murmuring as they well might be ; it ivas his purse 
aud credit that more than once prevented its dispersion, and the failure of 
the gloriousHichievemcfit of Independence. His ships were upon the ocean, 
his notes of hand forming a currency, his drafts honored everywhere 
among capitalists in his own country, and in many of the marts of com- 
merce in Eiirope. 

A reverse of fortune, saddening to those who are now enjoying the bless- 
ings to which he so eminently contributed — who wish that no cloud had gath- 
ered around the close of his useful life — intervened between the dates of the 
two letters. — O. Turner. 

[Buffalo Express.) 

Maybe this credit was fictitious; but maybe fiction doesn't come pretty 
close to the fact when for eighteen j^ears men and banks and nations loan 
money on it without question! 7 he fact remains that he associated himselj 
with the government a rich man, and emerged in a debtor's prison. 

Mr. Morris began to notice the decline of his credit in 1793 or '94, while in 
the midst of colossal land speculations for the purpose of meeting his never- 
ending obligations. 

1111796 his new house on Chesnut street, Philadelphia, was sold under 
the hammer before its completion. When at last the financial crash came to 
Mr. Morris, there was for him no pity but in words, no seeming memory oj 
what he had been and achieved, no second great-hearted Moms to save him 
from a dcbtcns prison as he had saved his country from oppression. Washing- 
ton came to see him and Hamilton wrote dunning letters; but he was not 
released, not until the law allowed. 



My ships have all miscarried my creditors grow cruel, my estate is very 
low, my bond is forfeit. — Shakespeare. ^ 

I oft delivered from his forfeitures 

Many that at times made moan to vi\&.—lbid. 

But if you linow to whom you show this honor. 
How true a gentleman you send relief, 

***** 

I know you would be prouder of the work 
Than customary bounty can enforce you. — IMd. 

Glancing an eye of pity on his losses, 

That have of late so huddled on his back, 

Enow to press a royal merchant down 

And pluck commiseration of his state 

From brassy bosoms and rough hearts of flint, 

From stubborn Turks and Tartars, never train'd 

To oflQces of tender courtesy.— 76ic?. 



— r95— 

Therefore I beseach you 
""Make no further offers, use no further means, 
'But with all brief and plain consisiency 
Let me have judgment.— /6jd. 

The weakest kind of fruit 
Drops earliest to the ground ; and so let me : 
You cannot be better employ'd, Bassanio, 
Than to live and write mine epitaph. — UAd. 

Grieve not that I am fallen to this for you ; 
***** 

Say how I loved you, speak me fair in death.— /6i<i. 
And he repents not that he paid your debt— ^6i<i. 

Gaoler, look to him ; tell not me of mercy : 
This is the fool that lent out mf ney gratis : 
Gaoler, look to him.— /Wd. 

These griefs and losses have so bated me. 
That I shall hardly spare a pound of fl^sh 
Tomorrow to my bloody creditor, 
Well, gaoler, on.— Ibid. 

But since he stands obdurate 
And that no lawful means can carry me 
Out of his envy's reach, 'I do oppose 
My patience to his fury, and am arm'd 
To suffer, with a quiteness of spirit, 
The very tyranny and rage of his.— /4i</. 

In the course of justice none of us 
Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy: 
And that same prayer doth teach us all to render 
The deeds of mercy. I have spoke this much 
To mitigate the justice of thy plea: 
Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice 
"Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant here.— /Wo/. 

Come, merchant have you anything to say? 

But little: I am armed and well prepared.- /6if/. 



The Age its Utest decide shows, 
The wondrous century nears its close, 
Eevealing m its fateful^pan 
Unwonted wayt of good to man. 

Imprisoned vapor speeds its course. 
Files, quick with life, th' electric force. 
Nature's daemonic mysteries 
Are angels now, that aid and please. 

But dearer far to human ken 

The record of illustrious men. 

The gifts conveyed in measures wrought. 

Of noble purpose and high thought. 

* * * * * 

Still battling on the field of Life. 
We break from the unequal strife. 
From task or pastime hasten all 
As at a vanished leader'« call. 



-^ig6— 



No gift whose precious bloom can fade, 

No holocaust on false shrine laid ; 

A legacy of good untold, 

August as oracles of old. 

The winged word that cannot die, 

The world-transcending prophecy. 

—Mrs. Julia Ward Howe. 



On this ereen bank, by this soft stream, 

We set to day a \ otive stone ; 
That Memory may her dead redeem. 

When, like our sires, our sons are gone. 

Spirit, that made thpse Jieroes dare 

To die and leave their children free. 
Bid Time and Nature gently spare 

The shaft we raised to them and thee.— Emerson. 




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HE LAND OFFICE. 



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